Warrior Soul
by Fierolobo
Summary: Nomad body. Peaceful mind. Warrior soul. Almost twelve years have passed, and there are too many things that have changed... Update: chapter 7 is finished, finally... sorry, I take too much time to write them :-/
1. Prologue

Prologue

Disclaimer: *Almost* all characters are property of Squaresoft™ Without them, this story would have never been written.

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**Warrior Soul**

_Part I: Chosen one_

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**_By Tanthalas Fierolobo_**

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_"Who says?"_

_- Squall Leonhart, to Quistis. _

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**_PROLOGUE_**

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Squall was tired of his life. Tired of fighting, tired of the leadership that tied him, tired of who said they were his friends. He finally had realized, SeeDs were hired assassins, professional killers. He didn't want to be an assassin for the rest of his life. A night after defeating Ultimecia, he took a decision. He gathered the few belongings he had in his dormitory, picked up some money and, leaving home, friends and love, went out of garden, Shiva as only company. His home would be under the moon. His destiny was under the stars. He ran through the asphalt, without looking back. In garden, inside what had been his office, over the commander's desk, laid his gunblade; beside it, his necklace: a mute note of farewell.

Squall promised to himself he would never hold a weapon again.

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	2. Part I Chapter one: A new day. Memories....

Warrior Soul

**Warrior Soul**

_Part I: Chosen one_

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**_By Tanthalas Fierolobo_**

_"Finally, we have recovered what was ours. Let us rejoice in this day, from the youngest child to the oldest man, for we are now, and forever, free."_

_- Rinoa Heartilly, speech to Timber.** **_

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**_CHAPTER ONE: A new day. Memories. Of friends and foes._**

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**1. Forgiven?**

Quistis sat on her bed, ready to begin another day. Balamb Garden was now flying over the sea, in its way for Trabia. The reconstruction of the devastated garden was almost finished, and soon it was going to be re-inaugurated, so the commander and all SeeDs were invited to the ceremony. After washing her hands and face, and tying her brilliant gold hair as usual, she dressed up, went out of her room and headed for the cafeteria. She glanced at the sky; there were no clouds in it, today was going to be a hot day. She had a fast, silent breakfast and then went to the third floor of garden. It was very early in the morning, so there were no students around. She reached the commander's office, and entered without knocking at the door, using a key instead; there was no need of that, because the Commander was someone she knew very well. She looked at the desk, a painful expression in her face. She couldn't help it, even with all the time that had passed; every morning, when she looked at the commander's desk, she remembered him: his face, the scar between his icy blue eyes; his voice, his precious baritone voice; his thoughtful expression; his body, with his fibrous muscles; his dark clothes, the necklace around his neck, the gunblade hanging by his side…

Almost twelve years had passed from that cold autumn day, and she still couldn't forget Squall. With a sad sigh, as every morning, she sat on the commander's chair and began to work.

- Thinking about Squall again, Commander? - Quistis glanced around, first surprised, then a little annoyed, but with a half smile in her lips.

- So what if I was? - She asked to her friend. - I think I told you, you shouldn't do that… you always give me a death fright! - She was talking to a young woman (she was around her thirties) that had just appeared inside the office. She had long, black, straight hair, tied with two leather ribbons, one behind her neck and other at the middle of her back. Her pale, porcelain skin was perfect, without a wrinkle, and was soft as velvet. She was wearing a grey top, her stomach uncovered, and dark blue trousers. Her amber eyes went back to their normal dark brown as she approached Quistis. 

- I don't like walking. - She said, with a gesture of her hand. - I can't believe you still miss him after what he did to us all.

- I've told you, Rinoa, I do not think like you.

- And that's why I gave you his ring, remember? I couldn't even look at it, but you accepted it gladly… - her eyes shone with a yellow light. - You have it in one of your pockets right now. And you have his gunblade and necklace in your room, don't you?

- Have I said you I hate your powers? - Said Quistis, grinning.

- Yeah, a million times. And so do I, but you get used to it…- she sighed. - Seriously, Quistis, you should forget him…- she said bluntly. -This is only hurting you. Or at least hate him…- "Like me" she added in her thoughts. Twelve years ago, she was shattered after Squall's disappearance, but she didn't try to find him, because he wanted to leave, he wanted to abandon them. After overcoming it, she discovered she profoundly scorned him for giving up, for running away from his duty, from his home, from his friends, and from his love. She really had loved him, and would have spent happily the rest of her life with him, but now she hated him as she had once hated Ultimecia. This had made her much more serious than before: she was not the carefree girl of her teens any more. Also, she was very sincere with everyone, about anything… brutally sincere indeed. She had thought many times about this, and came to a conclusion: she acted in that way because she believed that, if she had said to Squall how much she really loved him, how much she needed him by her side, and how much she wanted to be with him, he would have stayed; but she didn't say him what she felt. She wouldn't make the same mistake again. "You promised you would be there, always there for me." She had bitterly thought many, many times. "Where are you now, my coward knight? Away. You abandoned me, you abandoned us all."

- Oh, shut up! - Quistis said playfully, trying to look annoyed. She and Rinoa had become very close friends in twelve years; Rinoa was, in fact, (unofficially, of course) the second authority in garden, and was loved and admired by students and SeeDs equally. She lived in garden, and helped in all sort of missions. Quistis really needed her extreme (and often annoying) sincerity and objectivity. Rinoa had proven many times she was not a menace to the world; she was a blessing for it indeed: "The White Sorceress", many called her. - It's none of your business what I think.

- Maybe, but it's true what I say.

- Whatever… - Replied Quistis smiling. Rinoa frowned.

- Well, at least don't think of him when I'm around, okay? It makes me mad, hearing such pervert thoughts inside my head…- She giggled.

- I never think of him in that way! - Quistis tried to hide her smile. She knew Rinoa was joking (quite unusual thing in her), and was glad to see her friend was in a good mood.

- Yes, yes, of course, that's what you say…- with a chuckle, they both started to work.

**2. Forgotten?**

- Irvine! Were you paying any attention to anything I've said?

- Err… what? - Irvine was in his dream world of sex when suddenly a voice broke his "concentration". Unwillingly, he came back to real world.

- You weren't thinking about naughty things again, were you? - Irvine thought something quickly.

- How can you say that? You know I'm always thinking about you…- "Well, that's true…" he said to himself.

- That's the same thing, you pervert…- She playfully (but not softly) punched him in his arm. Then she seemed to think it better and kissed his cheek. "One thing for another, I suppose." He thought.

- Hey, I can think naughty things about my girlfriend if I want to! - With this, he passionately kissed her lips.

- Wait, wait! Put the brakes on, Irvine! This is not the place... - she (reluctantly) moved away from him, and continued eating her salad.

- We can go to "the place" then, if you want to…- She released her fork.

- Irvine!

- What? - She answered kicking his leg.

- Behave!

- C'mon, Selphie, I was just kidding! - She gave him a glance that said,"I know dear, but say it again and I'll rip your eyeballs off from your head."

- There's time for everything, dear… - she said giggling - but now, eat and listen! - Selphie and Irvine were having a light lunch at the cafeteria; they had arrived to garden three days ago from their last mission and now they were taking a deserved rest. They had a serious and formal relationship now; they were in deep love with each other, and did everything together. They hadn't married because that would ruin their SeeD careers, but they were as thick as thieves. Quistis always gave them the toughest missions of espionage and infiltration; they were famous for what they had done together, their mutual understanding was perfect, and the Commander trusted them at a hundred per cent. Selphie and Irvine didn't change much in twelve years: Selphie was *a little* more mature and serious (she was not mad any more Zell's words), and Irvine was *a little* more mature and a completely monogamous person (he was not mad about chicks any more Zell's words). Selphie was as beautiful as always, she only had a couple of very soft lines around her eyes and mouth when she smiled: "They make her prettier," Used to think Irvine affectively. Now her once curled hair (crazy hair Zell's words) fell in a copper cascade over her shoulders, hiding her ears and covering her neck. She was wearing a forest green top, with a long cotton skirt, a little paler, that flapped around her ankles when she walked. Irvine was as good-looking as always, only a couple of very soft lines around his eyes and mouth when he smiled: "They make him cuter," Used to think Selphie affectively. He had now his hair untied, falling in a copper cascade over his back. He was wearing a black T-shirt and brownie-green trousers. They were, in summary, a happy couple. - In two days we are reaching Trabia Garden, just in time for the inauguration party! You know, I've organized e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g, from the illumination to the fireworks, the food, and… - she went on talking about the event, proud of what she had done. She stopped when she noticed Irvine was staring at her eyes with a smile dancing in his lips. - What? What's the matter? -She said. She blinked with surprise as he raised his hand and tenderly caressed her hair and face with it.

- You are incredible. - He whispered.

- Irvine… - She bowed her head forward, he embraced her, and their lips joined in a long kiss. They didn't notice a blond man that approached them from behind.

- Ahem!Do I… interrupt anything? - The couple jumped in surprise, and moved away from each other as the man sat in front of them.

- No, nothing at all… - Said Selphie giggling. Irvine frowned.

- As timely as ever, Zell. - The aforesaid smiled as he crossed his legs. His golden hair was very short, only a centimetre or two long ("in a more mature way", he seriously used to say). He was wearing a dark red T-shirt and long blue jeans: he might have changed his hairstyle, his clothing, even his behaviour; but not his colours… or his eating habits. He was mad about hotdogs: hotdogs in the morning, hotdogs in the evening, hotdogs in the summer, hotdogs in the winter… "I would be a greasy fat-ass if I wouldn't make so much exercise", were Zell's words. He was one of the best combat SeeDs in garden: his movements were liquid when fighting; his blows, dodges, and jumps incredibly fast and accurate; his speed, extraordinary. When his friends praised him, he used to say, " I think I only would be beaten by you-know-who": Saying _his name was taboo for him; Squall was like an ancient god that he worshipped. When he wasn't on a mission, he was sort of a combat instructor in the academy, so he was (finally, after years and years of trying) a respected member of the garden community. He was not "Chicken Wuss" any more (Seifer's words)._

- Hey, if you want to do that sort of things, don't do them in an open place! - He laughed. Irvine glanced around. 

- Where's your buddy?

- Seifer you mean? He's out on a mission… some information exchange in Esthar, I think. He'll join us in Trabia for the ceremony. - Yes, Seifer _was Zell's friend. People can change a lot in twelve years: he was now "following the path of rectitude", as Quistis had said. He had been re-admitted in garden eleven and a half years ago. At first, Zell, Selphie, Irvine, or any other SeeD and Seifer couldn't be in the same room without arguing, they couldn't abide each other. He had to work very, very hard for being a SeeD, and for keeping his temper under control: he had been many times at the edge of losing his composure and starting a fight. He became a SeeD and, with time, garden students and SeeDs alike acknowledged him as one of them, forgiving, even forgetting what he did in the past. But there was someone who would never forgive him. If there was someone Rinoa hated more than Squall, that someone was Seifer. She always stayed away from him: everybody thought that it was because she felt uncomfortable, but the real reason (a reason only Quistis knew) was for preventing herself from killing him. She could have forgiven, even forgotten (with much effort) what he did, but she hated him in such an extreme way because she could read his mind: every time Seifer looked upon her his thoughts were something like "I should have killed you when I had the opportunity."Hatred was mutual. - By the way, how's the inauguration party going?_

- Fine. - Selphie answered. - All is ready. Oh, It will be so much fun! I can't believe my home garden is finally reconstructed… I only wish Sq… - she glanced at Zell, and rectified just in time. - You-know-who could be with us for the party. I'm sure he would enjoy it… 

- Yeah, of course, if you say it… - mocked Irvine. - Probably he'd lean over a wall and ignore us all until the end of the party!

- Maybe he has changed…

- Squall? Ifrit's hair would freeze before! He was a loner, is a loner and will be a loner until the end of days!

- You don't know that! - She replied. - We haven't seen him in twelve years; he could have changed in all that time, just like Seifer did.

- Oh, and why haven't he come back then?

- Because… because… - Selphie went quiet for a while. - Oh, why did he leave? - She finally muttered. - I miss him so much…

- He chose his path, dear. - Irvine hugged her. "How strange." He said to himself. "Why is she so sad all of sudden?" - He chose to live his life in the way he wanted, and he didn't want to be the leader of garden. He simply did what his heart told him to do.

- But why? Why did he go without telling us, without a farewell? I know we've discussed it countless times, but… we were his friends…

- That's something only he knows, Selph. - Zell took part in the conversation. Quistis never told them anything about Squall's necklace and gunblade: it was a secret only Rinoa and Quistis knew. - I think he knew he couldn't say goodbye to his friends, so he simply didn't say goodbye. Or perhaps it wasn't a "goodbye", just a "see you later"… - Zell had the secret hope that Squall would some day come back. - Who knows?

- Or maybe you are just daydreaming, Zell. - Irvine said, a smile in his lips.

- Maybe… - He sighed. - Anyway, I'm sure we all will enjoy the party. 

They continued talking about the celebration during lunch, Selphie cheered up again as usual. When finished, they stood up.

- I'm going to train a little… - Zell said, stretching. - I feel a bit drowsy today; I'll go and do some exercises… bye!

- See you later... - Selphie waved a hand while yawning. - I feel dizzy… let's go for a walk to the Quad, okay?

- Sure… - Irvine answered. A smile appeared in his lips. - Or we can do other sort of… exercise, if you want… 

- Irvine!

- Ahh… I had to try… - He put an arm around her shoulders. - Let's go for that walk. - With that, they headed for the Quad.

End of chapter one.

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	3. Part I Chapter two: Forgotten soul. Drea...

Warrior Soul

**Warrior Soul**

_Part I: Chosen one****___

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**_By Tanthalas Fierolobo_**

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_"Many people say that Love is a cureless disease that cures all diseases. However, I feel like I've been vaccinated against love for life."_

- Rinoa Heartilly, 'Diary of a Sorceress.'

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**_CHAPTER TWO:Forgotten soul. Dreams and nightmares. A feeling._**

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**3. Ride the winds**

The sun finally vanished behind the mountains around Winhill, the light dying with it. Squall observed the wonderful sunset in delight, as every evening. The sunset was different every day, because he was always in a different place when it came. He had seen it from the large plains of Esthar, the steep mountains of Trabia, the arid deserts of Galbadia, the deep forests of Centra… from every place imaginable. He was a nomad, a lone walker, a forgotten soul… and he loved it. His solitude was absolute, the silence around him, infinite. His long brown hair moved with a sudden torrid breeze that embraced him like an ethereal lover. "Winhill is damn hot in summer", he thought. He was wearing a white, thin, cotton shirt and black leather trousers. His hair was tied with a leather strip at the nape of his neck, a large ponytail falling over his back, moving back and forth with the wind. He had been sleeping under the stars for eleven years and eight months: he had not talked to another human in all that time. He never went into cities, towns or villages; he lived from what nature gave him (roasted Alagar was very tasty) carried with him the few belongings he needed (a backpack with some clothes, two blankets, provisions and water; a sleeping bag and very few gil), he used his magic only when necessary (he used to cast sleep on the animals he was going to eat, and then killed them without pain) and when he was in danger Shiva came to his aid (She appeared in matter of one or two seconds). He had not abandoned Garden discipline; he was finely shaved and had an acceptable hygiene: there were lots of streams, rivers and lakes around the world where he was able to clean the dust of the road from his body. He had grown an expert in curative herbs: he had had time for learning about many, many types of medicinal plants (he had had as well many stomach problems testing his own-made medicines) and knew a lot about the planet's fauna. He was now brother, lover and son of Mother Nature.

He had seen this sunset before, around seven or eight years ago, while visiting Winhill's surroundings, but he decided to come again to see if Winhill had changed much in all that time: when he arrived, he saw that it was almost the same, only with one or two new houses. From his position, he could see the entire village, only illuminated by the moon and the light of the street lamps. The night was calm, peaceful, the silence only broken by the crickets' cry. "If I decide to settle down, I'll come here", Squall thought. Then, he prepared his sleeping bag, ate something, laid down looking at the dark firmament, and observed the flickering stars until he fell asleep.

**4. I miss you**

- It's better this way, I tell you. - Said Irvine.

- How can you say that!? - Selphie was upset. - Don't you miss him?

- To tell you the truth, no. Look, if he had stayed, Quistis wouldn't be the Commander right now. And you know what Quistis, and Xu, have done to Garden… We don't "hire" orphans any more, for example. We give home to orphans, of course, but now all SeeDs and students alike are volunteers: they are here because they want to, not because there's no other place they can go. We are not mere assassins any more: we do all sort of missions, from stealth to humanitarian ones. Now Garden is like an intermediary between Galbadia and Esthar… thanks to "Wise Rinoa" the war has not begun. They have made this all possible… - relations between Galbadia and Esthar were agonizing. Only because of the influence the White Sorceress had in their respective leaders (General Caraway and President Laguna Loire*) the war had not exploded. - Now Timber is free and independent because of Rinoa's "slight" intervention… She even persuaded Laguna for giving us the Ragnarok and start the construction of Esthar Garden!**

- I know, but she could have done all those things by Squall's side…

- Ha! I don't think so… You know how Squall's disappearance changed Rinoa; she wouldn't be as she is now if Squall had stayed. I think we must thank him for leaving.

- Don't dare to say that again! I thought you were his friend!

- You said it: I _was. He ceased being my friend when he abandoned us._

- Hmph! - Selphie crossed her arms over her chest, putting an end to the conversation. This was the only disagreement between them: they had had similar discussions like this before, but they never got angry at each other; they simply had a different opinion on the matter. They were sitting at the Quad in a bench beside Squall's statue; this statue had been elaborated during the year next to his "death", by the greatest of the artisans from everywhere in the planet. It was a perfect replica of him, exact in each detail, representing him in a defying combat stance. It was set over a marble block, a silvery plaque over it: inscribed were the words:

_To the Memory of Squall Leonhart, first of the Ultimecia Heroes._

_You will always be our leader._

They looked upon the endless ocean, seeing the sun slowly fading behind the horizon. It was an amazing sight they loved to share when they were at home. After a while, Irvine put his arm over her shoulders, and pulled her closer, the discussion totally forgotten by both of them before the extraordinary picture. They silently remained there, lovingly embracing each other, until the sun completely set. 

They didn't notice a blond man that was approaching them. But this time, Zell did not interrupt them; with a lonely tear running through his cheek, he turned around to leave, and headed for his room. He lie down on his bed, and felt horribly alone as he remembered again the day of her death.

_"We were having a holiday at Esthar. You took my hand and forced me to get up; although the sun had just risen you were completely bright and full of energy. With a smile, I went out of our bed and embraced you, and we kissed. I was the happiest man in the world. You had never been in Esthar, and wanted to see everything, so I would be your guide. We went out of the room and visited the Presidential Palace, and I introduced Laguna to you. You were so excited… so beautiful… _

_ _

_"We went through the streets of Esthar, to the Airport, to Odine's Laboratory, to the Lunatic Pandora Museum. We visited Tear's Point, and spent the afternoon there, admiring the amazing statues, talking, laughing… loving each other. How could I have known that kiss we shared under the sunset light would be our last kiss? Melisa… my sweetheart…_

__

_"We returned to Esthar, and went to the Commercial Centre. You wanted to be in the huge library of Esthar; "I want to get lost with you there, and disappear between all that knowledge", you said to me. How you loved books, and reading… We were in our way to the library when it happened. We heard a shout behind us: "Die Estharian bastards!" A lunatic Galbadian terrorist had infiltrated somehow into the city, and had pulled out a sub-machine gun from his trench-coat. You were his first target. I tried to cover you with my own body, but to no avail: the first bullet went through your bare throat, the next five ones through my arm and shoulder. The screams of the crowd were insupportable, as I saw you falling to the ground. Ignoring the tearing pain, anger and hatred moving my wounded body with inhuman speed, I ran to the bloody bastard, avoiding his poorly aimed bursts of bullets. With a kick I sent the weapon far from him, and hit him to death, in wild frenzy. It was the first man I killed, but I didn't care. I went to your side then, blinded with tears. I knelt beside you, took your still warm hand between mine and cried, desperately cried over your dead body until collapsing for the loss of blood."_

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_"Why you, Melisa? Why you? Melisa… how I miss your smile, your voice, your words, your laugh, your eyes… How I miss you…"***_

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Zell stayed in his dorm a little more, thinking, remembering, wondering. A while after he went out and, with a sad, stormy sigh, headed for the Training Centre.

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*Author's note: Esthar people REALLY love Laguna… he has been re-elected all those years because there's no opposition! Caraway is other thing… Galbadia inhabitants begin to be tired of this dictator, although he's much better than Deling (He's like Cuba's Fidel Castro, for example). He's charismatic and knows how to handle the masses against his enemies.

**Other Author's note: Rinoa did not use any of her magic for doing all those things (Quistis - and Rinoa herself - would never allow that). She has become an excellent diplomatic, her incredibly sharp mind making her almost insuperable in a discussion.

***And other Author's note: the Zell thing has nothing to do with the main storyline at all, but I wanted to explain why the ponytail girl (you guessed it, Melisa) is not with him. 

**5. Shadows from the past**

Rinoa was really scared. Someone, or _something was following her, but she couldn't see what, only able to hear its deep breathing. She was walking through the streets of Deling by night, her heels knocking loudly in the silent darkness of the deserted city. The breathing was approaching, and she fastened the pace. Suddenly she heard a long, horrible howl beside her, and, in complete panic, began to run as fast as she could, trying to escape from the beast that persecuted her. She turned a corner, and abruptly bumped into a dark form that tenderly embraced her. __"Don't be afraid, Rinoa." The shadow whispered in her ear, his dark hand caressing her hair. __"I'm here, I'll protect you". She knew that voice, a voice she had once loved, a voice she knew in each detail. The creature was coming, but she didn't care any more; she was safe now. But when it approached, the shadow roughly released her and pulled her closer to the demon. __"No! Don't leave me now!" she cried out in terror as he, ignoring her pleads, turned around to leave. __"Please… I need you…" she saw him disappear behind a veil of tears. Suddenly all went black. The pain was insufferable as the claws and fangs of the creature tore skin, flesh and bone…_

Rinoa opened wide her eyes, and sat in her bed trembling, still feeling the horrible agony, her pulse racing. She glanced around in her dormitory panicked, not knowing where she was, until she realized. "Stupid nightmare..." she thought, lying down again, her heart slowly settling down.

Then, she burst into tears. She buried her face in her pillow and silently cried, the most piercing, intense pain tormenting her soul, until she fell asleep, totally exhausted.

**6. Dreadful vision**

Next day, Quistis went out of her room with the sunrise and headed for the cafeteria as usual. She was gladly surprised to see Rinoa sitting there, eating a toast with some coffee, a blank look in her eyes. She ordered her breakfast and sat opposite to her, a little concerned when she saw her expression. Rinoa seemed like she had not noticed Quistis, although she was right in front of her.

- Rinoa… - She startled when the woman touched her hand. Now Quistis was seriously worried. Rinoa never behaved this way; she was always alert, always ready to act: she perceived almost everything that happened in her surroundings. - What is it? What happened? - The Sorceress raised her eyes from the table, looking very tired.

- I had a nightmare about Squall and cried the whole night. - Now was Quistis' turn to startle. She would never get used to her bluntness. "I thought the nightmares stopped years ago," she said to herself then. - And they stopped. - Rinoa stated, frowning. Quistis jumped again. Mind reading: other thing she couldn't get used to. - I would never let it happen again. - Rinoa shivered, remembering the dreadful visions against her will. She had all kind of horrible nightmares after _his disappearance, partly because her newly discovered (and consequently still uncontrolled) powers, partly because she had felt incredibly guilty about his departure. This combination tormented her body, mind and soul; she couldn't think clearly, was too weak for speak and even refused to eat: she had been close to dead from starvation, but she didn't perish because of her friends' constant attentions. One day, without apparent reason, the nightmares stopped, and she slowly recovered. Only she knew what happened inside her brain; she couldn't describe the horrors she saw in her dreams even now, burying them in the deepest corners of her mind. It made a deep impression in her; they completely changed Rinoa indeed. - It has a meaning, I'm sure of it. I feel something awful is coming. - After saying this, she calmly took a sip of her coffee, like she had said something as "I think it's going to rain". Quistis' lips became a thin line. She was more and more worried; Rinoa, in one or another way, was always right in her "feelings"._

- We will talk about this in my office. - She said as a waitress came with her breakfast. Rinoa scowled, looked annoyed.

- I don't want to talk about it. There's nothing we can talk about. 

- Okay, if you say so… - Quistis sighed. - Maybe it was just a bad dream.

- Maybe... - she replied, doubtful. They finished eating without saying anything more, and headed for the Commander's office.

**7. Of love and Gardens**

The flying Garden arrived to Trabia continent at midnight, and Trabia Garden would show up around dawn. Selphie was too excited to sleep. She was at the quad looking upon the dark silhouette of the mountains, a yawning Irvine by her side (Selphie literally pulled him to the Quad from their bed), waiting for the Garden to appear with the rising sun. They had been one hour and a half there when the first lights of dawn came, reflecting on the little patches of snow that remained in the steep mountains: although summer was at its heights in the rest of the world, Trabia still was in a cold spring. Irvine embraced her from behind.

- Past those mountains is your beloved Garden, my dear. - He whispered, the warmth of his breath tickling in her ear. Selphie smiled happily.

- Yes… - A sudden cold breeze surrounded them. Irvine embraced her tighter when she shivered. - I love this air. It's so… clean. - He tenderly kissed her head, with short, soft kisses, and Selphie quietly moaned in delight. - I feel I could stay like this forever. - She muttered, bowing her head backwards, leaning it over his chest.

- So let's stay. Let's remain like this forever. - He said between kiss and kiss. Selphie turned around in his arms and, wrapping hers around his neck, she kissed his lips, with a light, soft kiss. Irvine gave it back. Selphie grinned; a mischievous grin. They completely forgot about Trabia, gardens or parties. 

End of chapter two. 

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	4. Part I Chapter three: Where nightmares c...

Warrior Soul

**Warrior Soul**

_Part I: Chosen one****___

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**_By Tanthalas Fierolobo_**

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_"I want to die by your side, Irvine. No matter when, no matter how, but by your side. Promise me you won't let it happen in other way."_

- Selphie Tilmitt, to Irvine.

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**_CHAPTER THREE: Where nightmares come true. Kristyne. A promise._**

**_ _**

**8. Pleasant loneliness**

The sun rose, and a new day began. Squall opened his eyes and sat on the sleeping bag, rubbing his eyes with his hand. He suddenly heard something to his left; he was not alone. Standing up hastily, he glanced around ready to cast a sleep spell. He saw how some bushes in front of him moved, and the shadow of a horrible monster appeared behind it. He was not certain of what was it exactly; he could only see its shadow. He silent, carefully approached, considering more destructive spells. The shadow moved, slowly getting out of the bush, revealing the horrible shape of… a dog. Squall sighed in relief, shook his head and smiled to himself: "I almost burnt a little doggy!" He thought. The dog was all black, with the exception of the tip of its tail and paws, which were white. Squall placed his hand on the dog's head and stroke its tiny ears. The dog moved its tail and barked: it was still a puppy. Smiling, he turned around and began to pack his things. The dog followed him and playfully bit the end of his pants.

- Hey! - Squall took the puppy in his hands and looked directly in its innocent eyes. It licked his nose. Squall was considering that having company wasn't that bad when he heard a childish voice.

- Barky, where are you? Barky! - Squall saw a little girl calling for her lost pet. She looked very worried. He left the dog on the ground.

- Go. Your place is here, with her. - He said. He saw the dog run through the grass to the girl, and she happily embraced her puppy. Squall took his backpack and turned around to leave, wondering why he suddenly felt so sad.

**9. Selphie, the soul of the shooter**

At midday, Balamb garden was "parked" a few kilometres away from Trabia Garden, in front of the mountain pass that led to it. An hour or so after lunchtime, the Commander, three SeeDs and a Sorceress went out of the flying garden, and headed to the rebuilt one on foot. They had many time until night, when Trabia Garden would be officially reopened, so Quistis decided that they would enjoy the landscape with a short walk instead of going by car, leaving Xu, the (officially) second in command and Garden Finances Administrator, in charge during her absence. Despite Irvine and Zell's best efforts, Selphie was more and more excited (She was beginning to seriously annoy Rinoa, something almost impossible); she had waited for this since the very first day it had been destroyed, and simply couldn't wait any more for being in her newly remade home Garden and begin the party.

- Hey, Rin, when will we arrive? - She asked by fourth time.

- I've told you, in about fifteen minutes. - Rinoa replied, irritated. - And my name is Rinoa.

- I know, Rin, but that's too much time. Can't you teleport us, or something? - Rinoa said nothing, a glint of anger in her dark brown eyes. Quistis decided to take part before this could go worse.

- Come on Selphie, relax. Enjoy this beautiful sight. - She made a gesture with her arms, covering all the amazing view. Selphie made a grimace and remained silent for a few minutes. Then, she suddenly began to run.

- I can't wait! - She happily yelled, as she ran directly to Trabia garden.

- Selphie! - Irvine tried to stop her, but to no avail.

- Let her be, Irvine… - Quistis said, grinning. - She can't help it. Besides, she was making me mad! - She laughed. Selphie disappeared behind a couple of rocks.

- I guess she'll meet Seifer and Kristyne at the entrance, so don't worry. - Zell said.

- Yeah… maybe you are right… - Irvine smiled to himself. "At the bottom, she's still a child. I wish there were more people like her." He thought. A while after, Rinoa suddenly tensed, glancing all around her, and then to the sky. Quistis noticed this immediately.

- What is it, Rinoa?

- Shush! - Rinoa raised her index finger, her eyes half-closed. - Can't you hear it? There's something in the air… - a few seconds passed, and they could sense it too. Zell swung from foot to foot, uneasy. It was like a quiet buzz, and was rapidly approaching. "I've heard that before…" She thought. Rinoa saw a sudden glint in the skies, like a sun reflection on a metallic surface. She focused better, and noticed lots of narrow trails slicing through the air, like… she wasn't sure yet. Irvine looked to the sky and gasped; he had been trained as a sharpshooter, so his skilled eyesight could perceive many things others couldn't. The buzz was now clearly audible, turning into a piercing roar. Rinoa finally recognized it, and so did Irvine. - EVERYBODY TO THE GROUND!! - Rinoa shouted. Quistis and Zell quickly obeyed, finally realizing.

- Selphie! - Irvine screamed over the ear-splitting sound.

- NOW!!! - Rinoa tried to push Irvine to the ground.

- SELPHIE!! - He went on shouting, starting to run in her direction. The roar was unbearable; the earth trembled all around them.

- You can't save her! - Rinoa resolved to use her magic to save him, making Irvine fall to the ground beside them just in the instant that dozens of missiles hit the Garden. The explosion was monstrous, and a whirlwind of torrid air passed over their heads, almost scalding them. Strangely, Irvine clearly heard Selphie's words over the thunderous pandemonium; heart-piercing words he would never forget.

_"No… not again…"_

**10. Lost one**

The roar finally ceased, the air was breathable again, and they stood up. Irvine ran as fast as he could directly to the enormous column of dark smoke that had been a Garden, and so did the others. "She is okay, she _must be okay!" he desperately thought while running. They approached to the impact zone, and Irvine noticed a dark form lying on the ground, at about two hundred metres away from the explosion. "Selphie! Please, be okay…" He fastened even more the pace, leaving the others slightly behind. He could see now the form was a human body; an extremely deformed body. "Maybe that's not her… maybe she found a place to hide…" He came closer. At three metres of the body he stopped. "That's not her… that can't be her…" The corpse was totally burnt. The legs were an amorphous mass of charred flesh; the chest was burst, the vital organs exposed; the skin was shattered, Irvine able to see the white bone in some parts of the body. "No! It's not her! It can't…" His anguish was overwhelming. "It can't be… it can't be…" He heard how his friends approached, how Zell couldn't prevent vomiting, but he didn't care. He couldn't be sure if it was really she, although he knew already. There was something that was not burnt. He saw a glint in the body's right hand; a shining green object was in it. He came closer, and immediately, with the most piercing of pains, he recognized it. "The amulet… the amulet I gave her…" It was a little but perfect emerald set in the middle of a triangular golden plate he had given her. __"A symbol for our immortal love" was engraved on it. "No… this... this can't be true…" he covered his face with his hands, and knelt beside her dead body, crying. He couldn't believe it; this was too much for him. Something died within Irvine. "Selphie…" He bent forward and tried to kiss her forehead and close her eyes, but it was impossible. He barely heard the others coming closer. "Selphie… I… I broke my promise…" He took a decision then; he pulled out his gun. "I can't bear it." He aimed to his head, and pulled the trigger._

- Irvine! - Quistis acted just in time. She was standing the closest to him, and with her hand pulled his head out of the way of the bullet, receiving the shoot instead of him. - Shit! - She said, trying to ignore the tearing pain, blood pouring profusely from her hand. - What the hell you think you are doing!? - Rinoa rapidly took her hand between hers and, surrounded by a pale blue aura, sweating in concentration, magically cured the horrible wound. The bullet fell, making a deaf noise when it reached the ground.

- Life has no meaning without her. - He managed to whisper.

- Of course it has! - Zell exclaimed,tears beginning to fill his eyes.

- Let me. - Rinoa intervened. She stood beside Irvine, and placed her hand on his forehead. She bent forward and muttered something in his ear. The expression on Irvine's face completely changed, from utter desperation to absolute determination.

- Of course. - He stood up and without hesitation took Selphie's body from the ground, ignoring the dark blood that instantly soaked his hands and clothes. They silent, sadly saw him walking, in his way to what was left of the devastated Garden, until he disappeared behind the smoke.

- Did you… did you use your magic to control him? - Quistis asked. Rinoa gave her a disdainful glance.

- I would never do that to him. - She said. - He won't try it again. Let's find out where did those damned missiles come from. - Without looking at her best friend, she began to walk back to Balamb Garden. Zell and Quistis stood there for a while, unable to speak.

- Selphie… is dead… - Zell finally mumbled. He still couldn't believe his dear friend had definitely gone.

- We will find the culprit. - Anger burnt in Quistis eyes, making her voice tremble, the flames of hatred consuming her soul. - And then, we will make him pay.

- And so are Seifer… and Kristyne… and all the people of Trabia Garden… - Zell was now realizing the magnitude of the catastrophe. He had a blank look in his eyes, his voice a mere whisper.

- We will make the culprit pay. For every single life the criminal has put an end to, I assure you _we will make him pay in blood. - They started to walk to Balamb garden, leaving Irvine alone with his agony._

Irvine was walking to the ruins of Trabia Garden; they would be her graveyard, as she had told him. He could barely breath with the smoke, but it didn't matter to him; he did not even notice at all. What Rinoa had said him boomed inside his head; he was unable to think in any other thing: just a word. A simple, delicious word, a word his life would be dedicated to from now on. A word he would serve to death.

_Revenge._

_ _

**11. Kristyne Lynn Tearless**

Rinoa saw a small white assault shuttle landing beside Garden. Sometimes they were used as transport for SeeDs on a mission, just like this time. The door of the ship slid open and a woman dressed in black and dark green steeped out of it an ran directly to Rinoa, followed by an extremely upset blond man in blue and grey clothes. "So he has not died." The Sorceress thought as Seifer came closer, a little disappointed. The woman who was approaching was wearing a fine, ethereal, light green silk blouse, covering her body down to her hips and below; a dark emerald top, her pierced navel uncovered; black comfortable trousers, and thin-sole footwear. Her wavy, neck-length hair was of a metallic colour, a mixture between brown, orange and dark red, like copper. It swung from side to side when running, and so did her necklace: a black marble stone with the shape of a cat, two minuscule emeralds as its eyes, the most priced possession she had. The hilt of several short blades, daggers and throwing knives were perceptible over and under her clothes, dispersed all around her body: two short blades in her hips (her hand-to-hand weapons), five or six throwing knives in her belt, one dagger in each ankle, and some more, carefully hidden. Her skin, tanned by the sun, shone under the afternoon light. Tiny mouth with perfect but strangely sharp teeth, well-shaped nose, big dark grey penetrating eyes, athletic body, soft voice. She had a bright smile in her lips, her dark eyes shining with happiness. She finally reached Rinoa, and embraced her whether she liked it or not.

- Oh, I'm so glad to see you are okay… - she said, her heart in her voice. - I expected the worse.

- I'm happy too to see you are alive, Kristyne. - Rinoa said, in genuine relief. "Now release me." She added to herself. Danielle Kristyne Lynn Tearless, a twenty-six year old SeeD native from Timber. She had come into Balamb Garden when she was nine; her now dead parents sent her there, almost throwing her out of her home, for "learning the meaning of the word 'discipline'", as they had said. Although rebel at first, she rapidly got used to Garden laws, and with time finished liking it very much; she was now very grateful to her parents for sending her to Garden. She was there fighting for the headmaster before the missile attack, and was there fighting for her partners' lives when Galbadia Garden attacked. SeeD at sixteen, a year or two after the 'Ultimecia War', she was the most advanced pupil in her promotion, the best one in many years indeed. She had specialised herself in short blades and throwing knives, a very uncommon discipline she had mastered to perfection, and was an expert on Thunder magic: GF Quetzacotl had been Rinoa's gift to her when she reached eighteen years old. She was Rinoa's number one fan, apart of a friend of hers and the other 'Ultimecia Heroes', as people called them. If Zell was the best combat SeeD in Garden, Kristyne was the best stealth one. A master in any thieving skill (or, as SeeDs called them, "Subterfuge techniques"), she was a feline; a silent cat when moving from shade to shade, a fierce (but still silent) panther when fighting, her anger the thunder that goes before the storm. And she was as friendly and outgoing as an innocent kitty. 

- Are the others… well, too? - She looked over Rinoa's shoulder. - Oh, there they come.

- They all are fine except for Selphie. She's dead, and Trabia Garden is utterly destroyed. - Rinoa tried to hide the trembling of her voice and, ignoring her astonished reaction, passed beside the not less shocked Seifer and continued her way to the garden. She was much more affected by Selphie's death than she let the others see. Now she cared just for one only thing: know who the hell sent the missiles, and then exterminate him like the cockroach he was; Garden radars would have the location already. "I can't wait any longer." She thought. She closed her suddenly golden eyes and, with a gesture of her hand, tracing a complex symbol in the air, she disappeared.* 

- C… Commander… is that true? - Quistis silently approached her, took Kristyne's hands and nodded. She remained silent for a while, a perplexed look in her eyes, unable to think in a world without Selphie Tilmitt. - But… but… why? - She couldn't hold it any more; she threw herself into Quistis' arms and silently cried. This was even more shocking; it was the first time any of them saw her cry. She never, _ever cried, for any reason, not even when her parents died in a train crash. "I can't believe Selphie has gone forever." Quistis thought, tapping her back. She wanted to cry too, and blame to the wind with all the power of her lungs, blame destiny for its cruel desires. But she wouldn't. At least not there, not in public._

- We will know soon, Kristyne, don't worry. We will know right now who did this. - They headed to Balamb Garden, unable to wait any longer. While walking, the Commander sensed a strange feeling inside her brain, like soft tickles. She knew well this sensation. "Quistis." Rinoa was telepathically contacting her. However, Quistis couldn't reply to her, only receive her information. "Come quickly. Radars tell us the missiles came from a secret missile base within the very city of Esthar."

Quistis opened wide her eyes, and began to run.

End of chapter three.

********

*Explanation: while learning to use her powers, Edea told Rinoa that there was other kind of magic only available for Sorceresses, a magic that could not be extracted from others, a magic Sorceresses have within and all around them. It is much more difficult to use this magic, it takes years of hard training but, when mastered, it's much more powerful than conventional magic.

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	5. Part I Chapter four: Secrets. The missio...

Warrior Soul

**Warrior Soul**

_Part I: Chosen one****___

**_ _**

**_By Tanthalas Fierolobo_**

_"There's always a reason to live, Irvine Kinneas. The difficult thing is to find that reason. Do you want to know yours? Revenge. _

_Tell me, Irvine… won't you avenge her death?"_

_- Rinoa Heartilly, to Irvine._

**_CHAPTER FOUR: Secrets. The mission. A soul to redeem._**

**12. Telepathic isolation**

Squall suddenly felt very sick. His head ached; his arms were as heavy as lead, and his legs couldn't sustain him any longer. He fell to the ground, and entered the sweet world of unconsciousness. The first thing he noticed was that he could think, and it's supposed that when you are unconscious you can't. The second, that someone was talking to him. He tried to see whom, but all was darkness. However, he recognized the voice; a woman's voice: Ellone. 

"Squall… Squall, can you hear me? Please, tell me you do…" Her voice sounded very scared, and worried.

Squall. It was a name he had not heard in a very long time, a name he had not used in many, many years. For a moment, he didn't realize that it was _his name. "Yes, I can." He replied. He didn't say it, in the strict sense of the word, but thought it. Squall came to the conclusion that she was using her powers to contact him. But since when did she have the power of telepathy? "What the hell is going on?"_

"You must come to Esthar! Please… do it quickly… they are… they are going to kill us all!"

"What? Who? And why?"

"Those monsters… they will destroy mankind… you must do something!" Squall was now very confused, and slightly annoyed. She was obviously overstating, this was not making any sense.

"Ellone, calm down and tell me what are you talking about."

"I don't have time to explain." She seemed now a bit more serene. "Listen, you must save us! All human race is menaced!" If he could have frowned, he would have done now.

"Must? That I _must? And why should I? What has done human race for me? I'm not a hero any more, I never wanted to. Let me be, sister, I don't care. Look for someone who does."_

"Not even for me, or for your own father?"

"Did he, or even _you, care when I was a child? Did you do something for me? I think not. You two left me behind, Ellone. A life, an __entire life as an orphan, only because he was 'too busy'. No, Ellone, I have no one to care for. To hell with human race."_

"Are you that selfish, Squall?" He could imagine the sad, disappointed look in her almond eyes, but he _really didn't care. "Very well, see it from this standpoint then: if mankind perishes, you too will perish. Sooner or later, you too will be annihilated, no matter where you hide." He would have frowned even more now. He hadn't thought that. "You must fight again, whether you like it or not. Maybe it's too late for me, but we still have a chance. We need you, the world needs you, Squall, for you are the best warrior that has ever born, the perfect leader. __You have been chosen. So save the world, if not for human race, for your own good. Come to Esthar, find GER-47 P; then, you will know what to do next." Her voice became bitterer, full of resentfulness. "Farewell… __brother."_

"But why me? What can do a simple man?"

"A simple man sets the difference…" Her voice slowly vanished, echoing in his head. 

"Ellone! Wait, Ellone!" Squall mentally shouted. No one replied.

"Ellone." Squall opened his eyes, and saw the red sky of the Galbadian evening. "Chosen?" He thought, remembering his sister's words… but also somewords he had heard long ago. "He… can his words be true, after all?" He stood up, and looked around him, doubtful. He knew that the choice he was about to make would mark him permanently; it would change his life, maybe forever. But he didn't notice that, sadly, like so many times before in his life, he had no choice at all. After a while of thinking, he took the path to the East.

**13. Hatred and regret**

Quistis went out of the elevator and headed to the Bridge, where Rinoa, Nida and Xu were waiting for her. The third floor of the garden had been remodelled, adapting to their necessities. The Navigator Platform, where the rudder was, had been enlarged, seats had been added, and had been guarded with a bulletproof crystal cover. The communication centre had been installed there, too. Below the platform laid a receiving hall, and behind a wooden door was the Commander's Office, that had been built right after the Ultimecia War.

- Nida, contact President Loire straightaway. - Quistis sat in the main chair, right in front of a large screen. - He has many things to explain.

- He's online; the image will appear in any moment. - Nida pushed some buttons in his control panel, and President Laguna Loire himself appeared in the screen. Soft lines covered his face (he was around his late fifties) and had his now black and grey hair neatly tied at the nape of his neck. He was behind a luxurious wooden table with lots of papers on it, and looked very sad and concerned.

- Laguna, I want an explanation! - Quistis barely could control her anger.

- Quistis, I'm as astonished and upset as you… not even I knew that missile base was there… I… I'm not responsible of the catastrophe… I'm so, so sorry… 

- Sorry? - The Commander couldn't believe what she was hearing. She dug her fingernails in the armrests, coldly staring at the President of Esthar with her sapphire eyes - You feel sorry? Trabia Garden is destroyed, the students have been killed, Selphie is dead! … And that's what you have to say? Sorry!?

- Quistis, please listen… I couldn't prevent it! That missile base was from Adel times, and was incredibly hidden! Our scanners and radars never detected it… I'm sure the Galbadians have something to do with this… they infiltrate in my city, control a secret base I didn't know that existed, fire the missiles in it to destroy your garden, leave, and now they are expecting a war between your people and mine!

- That's stupid, Laguna. - She literally spitted the words. - We can't afford a war against you now, and Caraway knows it. Besides, Galbadia has nothing against us. It makes no sense, so think other thing. Just in case, our SeeDs will go there and check that "Secret base" you mention, but I'm sure they won't find any proof pointing to Galbadian intervention.

- That's not necessary, Quistis, trust me. - Maybe it was just her imagination, but Laguna looked now a little nervous. - My most efficient men are now working on it, and the situation is totally controlled now. Kiros and Ward themselves are right now in that damned base. They told me that it was deserted, but they'll find out who did this, I promise. - Laguna really looked strange in her eyes. She couldn't say what was it, but there was something… Quistis realized that she wouldn't obtain anything from a conversation with Laguna (at least with _this Laguna), and changed her cold expression to a warm-wannabe smile._

- I trust you, Laguna, and you know it. I have no reason to doubt from your word… for now. - She made a gesture with her hand to Nida. - Trepe out. -The image vanished, just like her smile did. She turned to Rinoa. - I don't trust him. There was something… strange in his behaviour, don't you think? - The Sorceress nodded.

- That was not Laguna. At least, not his own words. For some reason, someone forced him to say what he said. I can tell he was desperately begging for help with his eyes. - Quistis ordered her thoughts in an instant, and immediately took a decision. 

- We will go to that base tonight, stealth mission. We've got… - she glanced to her wristwatch. - Around three hours to get prepared. Let's move.

- You are coming. - It was not a question, but a statement. 

- Of course. - "Sorry, Selphie, we will cry for you later. First, we will _avenge you," she thought. - Please tell Irvine he has a mission, he's still out there. I will tell Zell, Seifer and Kristyne. __We will find the culprit. - She stood up, and took the elevator. Rinoa still could see the flames in Quistis eyes, flames of the most burning anger. She sadly shook her head. "We won't shed tears for Selphie; we will shed blood." She thought. But she __did cry. A tear, the only one tear she would shed for her, a symbolic, lonely tear ran down her cheek. She found she didn't care at all for the inhabitants of Trabia Garden that had died; she only cared for her lost friend, and she knew why it was: "It's easy to ignore and forget the death of people you don't know," She remembered Edea's sad words. "That's what makes war easier, or even possible." With a stormy sigh, she vanished in the air._

**14. The end of glory**

Laguna closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands, feeling awful, and extremely sorry. The bodies of Kiros and Ward were lying on the ground, in a puddle of their own blood, surrounded by dead creatures. They had fought to death for his life.

- I've done what you wanted, now release Ellone. - He managed to say. She was on the ground unconscious; probably she had not been able to resist the terror any more, and fainted. He was talking to a tall figure that stood a few metres to his left, in the shades. Laguna couldn't perceive his disdainful, evil smile. The aforesaid talked with his deep, guttural, rough voice.

- You can kill her now. - President Loire raised his head from his hands, in shock.

- But you said you would spare her life if I told them…

- Yes, we said it. - He turned to his subordinates. - Destroy them. We will not need him any more.

- The female has fainted. - One of them said, with a similar voice.

- That will make it easier.

Laguna heard with a blank look in his eyes how Ellone fell to the ground again like a rag doll, her neck broken. "What… have I done…" He thought. Then, after a second of tremendous agony, all went black.

**15. Arrival to Destiny**

A shining black Ragnarok took off from the Garden's Hanger, a necessary new section built beside the Garage, where rested the assault shuttles and the Stalkers: small silent high-speed single-seat ships, also called "Aero speedboats", powered by electromagnetic impulses (Estharian technology.) The Ragnarok had been re-adapted for the SeeD missions; it had been used as an assault ship (with its heavy machine guns and ion-particle cannons IPC, apart of the new proton-cannon turrets proto-turrets that had been installed in its rear and flanks, added a few months ago), a fighter plane (with its improved speed and accuracy), a cargo and troop transport craft, an escort, and a cloaked spy-ship (it had a high-tech cloaking system now, for stealth missions). Five SeeDs and the Sorceress were in it: Kristyne at the controls (she loved flying; she was one of the best pilots in Garden, experienced in all sort of ships, but specially in Stalkers), Zell as co-pilot, Irvine, and Seifer, they both sitting behind them. They all were in complete silence, the reason obvious; the tension, the sadness, the hatred in the ambient could have been cut with a knife. Irvine had not opened his mouth since that hollow 'Of course.' Quistis and Rinoa were apart at the cargo compartment, in a heated (and private) discussion:

- I can't believe you said that to him… - Rinoa had just told Quistis what she had said to Irvine, and the commander wasn't very happy with it.

- I had no choice. It was a decision between a dead Irvine and an alive and full of hatred one. So I had no choice at all.

- But you completely changed him, you completely changed his mind!

- No. Selphie's dead changed his mind. I just changed his standpoint about it. Do you prefer a dead Irvine? We have enough with a martyr, we don't need one more. - They began to walk to the control room.

- _A martyr? We have hundreds of them. - Quistis replied, rubbing his hand. The pain of the wound had not gone completely yet. - Have you forgotten so soon Trabia Garden inhabitants? Besides, he __is a living martyr. A life dedicated to revenge is no life. And, a revengeful warrior is very dangerous; not just for him, but for us all. Thanks to you, now he will do __anything, legal or not, for vengeance, not caring for anyone else. _

- I know, but he is still a SeeD, and our friend. I could not let him die, and that was the only way to save him.

- But what will happen when he fulfils his objective? He will feel so empty, so miserable, that he will try to put an end to his life again.

- He will find another reason to live before that can happen. I feel that much time will pass until he, and us all, can take revenge. - Quistis gave a sardonic smile to her.

- Oh, please…, can you tell the future now? How can you 'feel' that?

- I just feel it… - Rinoa was tired of this conversation. - Look, I assure you he will not put in peril this mission, I'm positive.

- I wish I could be so sure about it… - they arrived to the elevator. - We all will keep an eye on him, and so you will do. What does _he feel now?_

- Pain. He feels like a part of his own body had been violently torn off from him. And behind all that suffering, an extreme resolution. He thinks he must redeem his soul for a promise he made to Selphie and he broke.

- Poor Irvine… this is not good. - She looked sad for an instant, but then changed back to her cold 'I'm-the-boss' expression. They steeped in the room where the other SeeDs were sitting. Zell asked their course of action:

- Orders, sir?

- Set course for the city of Esthar, to the secret underground missile base. - Quistis ordered. - Here are the coordinates. Activate the cloak system.

- Course set. -Kristine said in a neutral voice. - Anti-detection system… activated. Silent engines system… activated. We will arrive in twelve minutes.

Rinoa and Quistis sat in silence, behind Irvine and Seifer respectively. Rinoa had complained about Seifer's intervention in the mission, but the Commander had been intransigent about it: "You must work together. We need his abilities, and yours too. Besides, he would never let us exclude him from this particular mission, not even if I order him," She remembered Quistis' words. And she was right, she had to admit. Seifer was a good SeeD after all, despite his temperament and inexplicable hate against the Sorceress. He was now checking his equipment, and Rinoa observed him as he expertly revised it. She did not need any equipment, only her magic and her sharp, quick mind (but she had a small dagger tied to her right leg for any extreme situation), so was the only one who wasn't doing really something; Zell and Quistis were checking their inventory too; Irvine was simply looking forward, trying to fill the emptiness within him with his revenge desires; Kristyne had her hands in the controls, totally immersed in her task. Rinoa turned her look to her, and studied her movements with a combination of love, friendship and proud in her eyes. Although she was just three years younger, Rinoa, despite her occasional rough words, felt for her something like a mother would feel for her daughter. She was kind of her 'protégée', but also a friend, and a battle partner. For Kristyne, the White Sorceress was the object of her admiration, a confident, and above all that, her best friend. Suddenly, like she had felt that someone was looking at her, she turned her head and smiled warmly to Rinoa when their eyes encountered. The Sorceress gave the smile back. "Nervous?" she said with her lips. Kristyne shook her head. "Furious. Sad. Not nervous" Rinoa nodded. She knew exactly what the SeeD felt, though. It was a mixture of sadness and fury, as she had told her, but also determination, impatience, and a little nervousness. They didn't know what they would find in that missile base, after all. She knew Laguna had not told them the truth, that he had been forced in some way to say what he said; by the circumstances, or by other people. She was uncertain about what to believe.

Seifer sighed. He had finished verifying his tools: everything was right and ready. He found that he felt really sorry about Selphie's death; he truly missed her presence among them. "I certainly _have changed," he said to himself. "Who would have said twelve years ago that I would miss someone like Selphie? That Selphie would be my friend, or even my partner… come to think on it, it would have been very difficult not to become a friend of Selphie… she was the most loved SeeD in Garden, everyone was her friend. It's a luck that Quistis decided to temporally keep in secret her death for the rest of the garden." The Commander had to made a short speech for the inhabitants of the flying Garden to prevent them from attacking Esthar in a massive, uncontrolled assault. Despite their discipline, it had been difficult enough to stop them without mentioning her death. If she had said that the most representative and appreciated SeeD after the Commander herself had been killed, the students and SeeDs would have gone completely outraged. "I hope I'll have the opportunity of personally punish the culprits, and make… justice." A malicious smile appeared in his lips as he caressed the edge of his gunblade. Just then, he perceived Kristyne's voice over the quiet, soft buzz of the engines of the Ragnarok: _

- We have arrived. We are over the base. - She said. Quistis stood up and glanced at her subordinates, one by one. She spoke:

- Here we are. Have the ropes ready, we are not going to land the aircraft on ground. Zell, connect the autopilot, and put it in 'remote control'. - Ignoring his "done", she went on giving instructions. - Kristyne, you go first. Then Seifer, third Irvine, next me, Zell, and Rinoa at the rear. - She looked to each one's eyes, valuing their expressions: Seifer and Kristyne's impatience; Irvine's determination; Zell, always nervous and uneasy before a mission; and Rinoa's unfathomable, impenetrable expression. Quistis nodded once. - Let's move.

End of Chapter four.

---------------------------------------------------------------


	6. Part I Chapter five: Just a memory. The ...

Warrior Soul

**Warrior Soul**

_Part I: Chosen one_

**_ _**

**_By Tanthalas Fierolobo_**

_"A SeeD must learn that no one is unarmed or defenceless… not even when they are dead." _

- Quistis Trepe, 'Teachings.'

**_CHAPTER FIVE: Just a memory. The Lab: GER-47 P. The Cold War ends._**

**16. Why me?**

Squall begun to be tired. He had been walking without rest for around sixteen hours. He was now on the railroad tracks, and Fisherman's horizon was just a few kilometres away. The trading routes were now closed again (they had been closed once more two years before, during what had been called 'The Fisherman's Revolt' for information on this term refer to 'Kholos Chronicles', Volume two hundred thirty-four, chapter seven, Estharian Library), so there was no danger. Where he was now, he could only see the ocean, the deep blue seas now painted in dark yellow, ochre and orange tones by the burning artist, the dying sun. With his palette of colours, he also painted the firmament with dark reds, deep oranges, dark and pale blues. The few clouds around were tricked mirrors, reflecting the magnificent colours in paler versions of them. Squall took a sip from his water bottle and decided to stop and spend the night there, captivated by the wonderful sight. He had had much time already to think about his situation. Each step he gave, each metre he left behind was getting him away from the life he had worked so hard to obtain, from a life he loved. He was walking directly to the life he left behind many years ago, and to an almost certain death. He did not know what expect to find in Esthar, or what to do when he arrived there. Ellone had mentioned monsters that menaced mankind, and that he had to lead the fight against them, but there was nothing clear in her words. Or maybe there was nothing, and Ellone was simply having a nightmare or something. Now, he was in his way to become a fighter, a leader again. Become a leader again? For whom? For Esthar? Esthar people did not even know who he was (well, that is what he believed; he was a hero for everyone in the world… a martyr indeed. With his sudden disappearance, Quistis had said that he died in the final confrontation with Ultimecia, dealing the final blow that finished her life. Only some assistants to the SeeD party after her death that had seen him knew the truth Zell, Irvine, Rinoa, Quistis, Selphie, Xu, Edea and Cid Kramer, Nida, the now dead Melisa and some other important SeeDs like Christopher Mallow or Julianne Robson. Quistis had two main reasons to do this: first, to prevent everyone to look for him. It was his will to leave and everyone would respect it, in gratitude for all he had done; and second, for not harming his reputation, and create a legend instead. It was much better for him and for them all people believed that, and not that he had gone leaving all behind, not caring for them.) Or what he had done in the past. Why would Esthar make him, a simple traveller, a simple outsider, their leader? Or maybe she was referring to be the leader of the SeeDs again… he did not want to think about it. The actual Garden leaders would never let it happen. He was sure that his old friends hated him for what he did (or, better, didn't), Rinoa the most, and would not want to know anything about him (don't misunderstand, he had learnt to ignore it). Rinoa… he hadn't thought about her in… how many years? He had lost the count (Eventually, he gave up counting the days around nine years ago. He did not know that in two days it would be his 29th birthday, but he didn't care at all, though.) He sacrificed their friendship, he sacrificed their love for what he had now and was going to lose. The first months of his self-imposed exile he had tried to deny it thinking that she had never loved him, and he had never loved her, again and again. With time and effort, he forgot her, throwing her presence away from his head… in the real life. But the dream world is ungovernable. He still dreamt with her sometimes, but he usually could not remember the dreams. The times he could, he remembered a jet-black haired woman without identity, but nothing more. Strangely, he had never associated that image to her. He always dreamt that he shared with her all the wonderful things he had seen; the magnificent sunrises and sunsets, the incredible monsters and animals, the calm forests with crystalline streams, the breathtaking sights on the top of a mountain, the wind striking his hair and clothes… but he never thought that it was Rinoa. She was now a shadow of his past, and he had forgotten the past; partly thanks to his will to forget it, partly thanks to time. But now, the memory was fighting to emerge from the darkness of the deepest corner of his mind. It almost won the fight. He remembered her, he thought about how angry she surely was; but when _she, the __woman, with her dark brown eyes with long, thick eyelashes, with her friendly warmth, with her amazing mysteriousness, with her mystical charm menaced him with imprison his soul again, he shook his head, sat down and began to prepare something to have a frugal dinner. The memory simply vanished._

**17. The other side**

Jerold Nieven was extremely bored, and a little sleepy. He was standing at the entrance of something that looked like a natural cave, wondering why he had been ordered to be there; he had been told to guard it, and notify immediately if someone approached. It was around midnight (he had been there for almost five hours), and the night was calm. The cave was located in one of the 'green spots' of Esthar: a 100x100 metres square full of trees and vegetation, with narrow grass paths to walk. There were no lights in it, so it was deserted now; only the sound of the branches and leaves of the trees swinging with the soft breeze broke the silence. With his lantern, he glanced around again. And again, all was completely normal. "I want to go home," he thought with a sigh. He imagined his wife, receiving him with a warm embrace and a soft kiss. He imagined his little daughter, only four years old, sleeping in her bed. But no… he had to be there at least for two hours more, and then the turn would change. 

He hated his work. He hoped that soon he would find another job, a better one. A job that would let him spend more time with his beloved Celia and his little Risa. At his thirty-three years, he could obtain many good jobs, with some luck. He slowly blinked, trying to throw away his mental distractions and glanced around… again. Nothing.

Suddenly, he felt how something grabbed him from behind. He tried to pull out his weapon, but a brilliant silver blade was over his throat and a hand over his mouth in a fraction of a second.

- Don't even try it. - The shadow whispered in his ear. It was a female voice. - Now, you have a second to faint. - Nieven did nothing. - Time's out.

With a simple, clean movement, she sliced his throat open. Jerold's body fell to the ground, instantly dead. "Why can't I breath?" had been his last coherent thought. Then, five more shadows emerged from a group of trees, all covering their bodies with completely black clothes, and joined her at the entrance of the cavern, while she cleaned her blood-covered knife in the corpse's clothes. A woman, who appeared to be their leader, spoke.

- Seifer, Zell, hide the body. Kristyne, go in and decode that door. Rinoa, if it doesn't work, try to open it _silently with your magic if you can. Irvine, come behind me._

The black dressed men and women did as they had been told. A minute later, the doorway was decoded, and six darker shadows between the shades of the cave were in it. Their leader spoke again.

- Let's go in.

Next day, they didn't hear the desperate crying of a widow and her four-year-old daughter.

**18. Laboratory**

- You had not to kill him. - Rinoa said in a cold voice to Quistis. Her ever-present premise was 'no blood shedding'.

- They had not to kill _my students and SeeDs. - She replied in the same tone. "Then kill them by yourself if you want to, but do not use Kristyne for it," The Sorceress thought. She was going to articulate her thoughts, but Quistis cut her before she could. - Seifer, scanners. - She turned to him. - What do they say? Any more life forms?_

Seifer had in his black-gloved hand a little artefact (it was of the size of his fist) with a green screen in it, and a few buttons at its sides. They were a few metres inside the cavern, in front of the now deciphered doorway. Despite the darkness, they all noticed that it was labelled with the yellow letters 'GER-47 P'

- I can't tell. There must be some kind of inhibition field surrounding the base. Heat-detection scanners, and detection systems in general seem to be useless in here.

- Rinoa, can you use your 'detection system' then? - Quistis never ordered directly to Rinoa, despite she was her subordinate. She always (except counted times) behaved towards her like a complete equal in command, asking instead of giving orders. It was not fear to her, of course, but respect and friendship. Rinoa, on the other hand, hated to give orders. She did not like leadership, and let all the leader work to Quistis (she was the Commander, after all.)

- Gladly. - She closed her eyes in concentration, but a while after she suddenly opened them again. Quistis, who was in front of her, could see that her eyes turned from amber to dark brown in seconds. - How strange… - The Sorceress said. - There's a magic barrier all around this place too… strangely, I did not feel it when we were outside. Certainly, there's someone that does not want this base to be found… and that someone can, or could, use magic. Laguna said that it is from Adel times... 

- I understand. We can't explore this place without knowing how many people we will find. Can you… destroy it or something?

- I think I can… but it will take an important amount of my power. The magic field is quite strong. - She glanced to their expecting faces. - Maybe you'll prefer not to see this. - She said, specially looking to Kristyne. She understood what she meant.

- C'mon, Rinoa, I've seen it once, remember? - She said, with a nervous smile.

- Please proceed, Rinoa. We are wasting precious time. - Quistis said. The aforesaid sighed.

- Very well then…

Rinoa gave a few steps away from them and knelt. She knew that this was going to exhaust her, and did not want to fall to the ground when she finished. She closed her eyes again, and put her hands on the ground in extreme concentration, canalising her powers. She began to softly mutter some unintelligible words: _"Aine non adowe, kainhyne don amare io serei, Ainetoh Xumare, fedeix inhyvete aninhare…"*. She went on like this, but nothing happened at first. Then, she started to breathe quicker, to talk quicker. She buried her fingernails in the soft earth of the floor, her magic-imbued heart pumping faster and faster. The first physic changes began; her hair slightly grew, and so did her fingernails. First soft, then deep dark blue veins began to cover her cheeks, arms and finally her forearms. A golden glint escaped from behind her closed eyelids. While her hands were turning in sharp claws, she stood up. When she was on her feet, began to slowly raise her arms, and what had been a barely audible whisper turned into articulated words that the others couldn't understand. With her arms up, her razor-sharp fingers extended, her extremely long hair swinging with a breeze that only surrounded her, and before the speechless SeeDs, her feet began to elevate from the ground. She suddenly opened her eyes; they were completely gold, without any white part in them, and shined with a magic aura that surrounded all her body. She slowly rose from the ground until, without apparent reason, it all stopped. With a final arcane word, that sounded like "__diinhyvete", Rinoa brought down her arms and fell, putting a knee on the ground. Her breath was deep and fast as, with her head down, fatigued, her eyes, hands, hair, cheeks and arms quickly went back to normal. _

- Done. - She managed to mutter. She did not feel the barrier any more; she had literally disintegrated it particle by particle. She heavily stood up, and walked to the others, trying to keep balance. - No more barrier. Let me a few seconds to recover…

- Of course. - Quistis replied, giving Rinoa her arm. A few later, when the Sorceress' heavy breathing went back to a normal rhythm, she broke the silence. - That was… amazing.

Rinoa smiled weakly between inhalation and exhalation. Despite they had seen her using her magic other times, they never got used to the power she displayed, to the changes that her body suffered. Very few times she had used such an amount of it before, and she knew that she had never unleashed all her power, not even in her hardest trainings. She released Quistis' arm and stood by her own, almost completely recovered.

- Let's see. - She put a hand on her forehead and closed her eyes, concentrating once again. A minute or so later, she opened her eyes. - Two more thinking life forms, I can tell, plus some rats and so. I can sense their feelings, but vaguely from this distance: boredom for one, desperation and panic for the other. 

- May they be Kiros and Ward?

- Maybe… but even if they are not I don't think they represent a menace, though; for their emotions, they don't seem to be guards. Their feelings seem to be a prisoner ones… but I can't be sure from here. 

- Hmmm… this complicates things. The fact that they might be prisoners implicates that this is more than a missile base. - Quistis gave the Sorceress a glance of gratitude and talked to the others. - Well, let's move. We won't split up, but keep a distance of two or three metres from each other; stay in the shadows whenever you can, and watch your step… there may be traps or security devices elsewhere than here. - She turned to Kristyne, who was standing beside the door controls. - Open the entrance.

With a quiet buzz, the door slid open. A large, wide, poorly illuminated passage with countless steps, that led downstairs to another doorway, was behind. The sight that awaited them passed that doorway was, when less, intimidating. When they silently, with all sort of cares, reached the opposite entryway, a huge circular room was revealed to their eyes. The ceiling, an enormous dome, had innumerable neon lights, equidistant from each other in a row that went all around the room. Just some worked, so the poor light that came from the ones that were lit imbued the vast place with a cold, mournful blue semidarkness that made more than one shiver. The whole room was plagued with all sorts of machines and computers; many were utterly destroyed, but it was evident that most of them did not work for the numerous sparks that lighted sporadically the place, making the ambient even gloomier. The floor was covered with broken glasses, so walk silently would be impossible for the SeeDs. Four doors were distributed along the wall, leading to unknown inner chambers. The silence was oppressive, just broken by the sound of the electrical sparks from the machines and the quiet buzz that came from the only things that were functioning: some cylindrical water tanks, two metres from top to bottom and around seventy-five centimetres from one side to another, that shone with a strange pale blue light. They were aligned across the right semi-circular wall of the room, and had several cables and connections attached to them. From that distance, none of them could see what the tanks contained. Then, Quistis spoke.

- Definitely, this is not just a missile base. We must explore this place. First, let's find these 'life forms'.

- They can't hear us from this distance, so we can make a little noise without risk. - Added Rinoa.

- Good. Irvine, Kristyne; check for traps around those doors, and see where they lead. Seifer and Zell, try to find a working computer inside this mess of cables; beware of the electricity… I don't want to smell roasted SeeD flesh… - "again", she added to herself. - Rinoa, let's find out what those water tanks contain. 

Without any more words, they split up. As silently as possible, Rinoa and Quistis approached to the enigmatic glowing blue water tanks. They could see now they were not empty: a vague silhouette at first, the strange shape inside revealed more of its nature as they approached trying to avoid the numerous broken glasses and destroyed artefacts on the ground. Finally, they reached the first of fourteen containers. Quistis gasped. Rinoa scowled deeply. Over a plaque labelled 'FAILURE - 11', there was one of the most grotesque visions they had ever seen. A vaguely humanoid creature, of a greenish-yellow colour was inside. Around a metre tall, it had countless twisted tentacles instead of legs. Five arms, with fingerless hands were attached somehow to its deformed torso; its head didn't have eyes or nose, just an enormous mouth, full of razor-sharp teeth. Its rotting skin had numerous scars and pustules, making it even more horrifying. It was something atrocious. And, for the raising bubbles, the slight heart pumping, the little breathing movement they noticed, they knew it was something _alive. Sickened, they both went from tank to tank, each next creature worst than the previous one, all sort of imaginable horrid deformations plaguing their twisted, changing bodies. _

They arrived to the eighth container, bigger than the others, labelled with 'FAILURE - 34'. The humanity of the creature inside was almost completely lost in appearance; it was an amorphous mass of yellow flesh and bones, with two malformed legs and arms with fat toes and fingers. What appeared to be its head was buried between the barely noticeable collarbones, so only the minute nose and eyes were visible. And were those eyes what horrified even more the women. Those coal-like eyes without eyelids _had intelligence, and stared at them without mercy. And then, they realised the pain the creature was suffering. Those eyes spoke of pain; described agony with all sort of details; told them the crudest tale about suffering; all in a few seconds. Paralysed, they observed how the living thing slowly, painfully raised its arm; saw how it slowly, painfully raised its index finger, and watched how it slowly, painfully pressed it against the glass and wrote, with a putrid green liquid that had to be its blood. In green, twisted letters there was written, backwards, a petition; a pleading: __'KILL ME'. A moment later, the liquid was diluted in the water, a mere shade remaining in the crystal. Quistis' sickened gaze met the Sorceress'._

- Rinoa…

- I know. I'll put an end to their suffering.

She went to the first one, and slightly touched the glass while she closed her saddened eyes, her head bowing forward. Soon, magical flames consumed the distorted bodies, one by one, as she touched their respective tanks. They both perceived the gratitude in the few creatures that still had a little bit of intelligence remaining before they were completely burnt; gratitude for setting them free from a half-life of torment. They slowly turned away from the containers, giving a last glance to the ashes of the creatures; Rinoa's was sadness incarnation, Quistis' was made of pure anger. They approached to the awaiting SeeDs, that had finished their respective tasks and were looking expectantly to the women, their eyes asking mute questions (except Irvine's) that would never be answered. Zell was the first one valiant enough (or, valuing the women's expressions, stupid enough, it depends of the standpoint) to ask:

- What was inside those... things?

- There was something… ter... - Rinoa began to reply, but the Commander cut her immediately with an ice-cold voice:

- Nothing. There was nothing there, and none of you will ask again about the matter, understood? - Zell gave a step back, and they all slowly nodded, knowing what her words meant. Only the most horrible things could upset Quistis in such an extreme way. - Seifer, anything of use?

- No. All has been destroyed carefully. None of the computers work, no documentation, no data-disks, no nothing.

- Zell? - He answered just shaking his head. Quistis scowled. She turned to Irvine and Kristyne. - Well? Any traps? - Irvine talked for first time.

- Yes. I managed to disable all the three of them. It was not easy. - The woman stared at the movement of his mouth, her lips becoming a thin line. "His voice has changed." She thought. "The joviality, the happiness that once plagued his comments has completely disappeared. Even I can feel his suffering, his emptiness." Quistis changed rapidly her thoughts, concentrating once more in the important mission they had. She would have enough time to think profoundly about it later.

- Kristyne?

- Each of the doors leads to the same semi-circular corridor. This corridor is huge, and has lots of similar doors that lead to what appear to be cells. I counted fifteen, and two were inhabited, sir. There are three more corridors connected to the main one that communicate to other parts of the base. According to the signs on the walls, the first one leads to the missile storage room; the second and third ones, to the male and female employees' barracks, respectively. - She seemed uneasy, and turned her gaze to the floor, looking ashamed. - An awful... stench... comes from there, sir. - "Even more aberrations?" the Commander thought. Rinoa gave a significant glance to her.

- Well, let's move. We'll try to talk to those prisoners.

They stepped into the main corridor, where the illumination was even worst. The floor was covered with crystals and cables, like in the other room, but there was something more here: blood. Dry blood patches covered certain spots of the place, the metallic smell of blood mixing with the horrible stench of death that came from the secondary corridors. Kristyne silently pointed to the closest of the inhabited cells, and they slowly, making as little noise as possible, approached to it.

- Which one is this? - Quistis said to the Sorceress in a barely audible whisper.

- Desperation. Claustrophobia. - Rinoa said with golden eyes. - He seems paranoic, but not mad… yet.

Quistis frowned; she approached carefully to the cell door, and opened the little window on it. She glanced all around the dark room, and saw a hardly perceptible startle in a corner. She began to talk, trying to appear friendly, without knowing what to say.

- Hello? Is someone there? - She said. There was an uncomfortable silence before the prisoner's answer. A trembling, fearful voice, of unknown sex, came from a corner in a whisper that the woman scarcely heard, and almost didn't understand.

- Wh… who you are? I do know not the voice yours… - "He doesn't seem very clever," Quistis thought. She felt then the tingling sensation of Rinoa's voice penetrating in her thoughts: "He does not seem a menace, though; at least for now. He's a Shumi, Quistis", The Sorceress 'said' her. The Commander glanced at the jet-black haired woman, a little surprised. A Shumi? What was a Shumi doing there? Why would a Shumi, member of a tribe that had always been friendly allies to humans, be held captive in a place like that? Quistis could not think a reason. "I thought Rinoa could not read Shumi's minds," she thought then to herself remembering the Sorceress mental words, looking at her amber iris. The tickling feeling came again to the back of her head. "I can't. _That's why I think he's a Shumi. I can sense his feelings, nothing more. An incredible rush of hope overruns him right now." Quistis slightly nodded, and turned to the window again. "I will never get used to that," she thought, with a barely noticeable sigh. She finally talked to the awaiting prisoner:_

- I… we are here to help you, if you collaborate with us.

- You… you not will make feel pain again to me… you will? Aplease… not do hurt me with evil machines again, you won't? - Quistis had to take a few seconds to understand the strange sentences of the Shumi before answering.

- I assure you we won't hurt you. If you behave calmly and answer our questions, we will free you. Do you understand that? - Quistis saw how he moved in the corner, excited and extremely happy. He almost couldn't control his words.

- Yes, yes! Will I answer, will I with you go! Free, at last be free with you, your will be! - His voice was trembling with excitement and joy. The woman turned her sapphire eyes to Irvine.

- Irvine, unlock the door.

He did as she had said. It was quite a simple lock, so in a minute or two the door was opened. Seifer gave his lantern to Quistis, who entered the room first, followed by Rinoa. The rest of them stayed at the entrance, carefully listening to the conversation inside, watching the Shumi's movements. The cell was almost in complete darkness, so Quistis pointed the light directly to the prisoner's body, trying to see his complexion. Definitely it was a Shumi from head to feet: yellow, hairless skin, a little paler than normal from the absence of light; a body about a metre and forty centimetres tall, covered with rags and tattered clothes; and big hands, with long, habile fingers. The SeeDs could see now why he had not moved from the corner where he was sitting: he had chains attached to hands, feet and neck that let him move just a few centimetres from the cell wall; he could not even stand where he was, so he had to be in the same sitting position all the time. But there was something extremely strange: his eyes. They were not the usual black-as-coal eyes of a Shumi, full of peace, patience, and logic. They were light grey eyes that had the glint of pure madness and paranoia inside them. "It's easy to explain that, looking at his condition. This place would destroy any mind." Quistis thought. Without knowing why, she began to think she could truly trust the poor Shumi, and was beginning to like him very much. Again, the mental voice of the Sorceress entered with a tickle inside his mind. "Treat him kindly. Make him trust you. I think there's valuable information inside that distorted mind." Quistis nodded and glanced at the chains that tied him. 

- Just wait a little, friend, and we will remove those horrible chains from you. Then, we will take you to our ship. There you will answer our questions, and I promise that then you will be free to go, if you want. - She said. The Shumi's face was happiness incarnation. The commander motioned to Kristyne to enter, and watched her as she bent over the Shumi and, with expert hands and eye, carefully examined the intricate lock of the shackles.

- Give me three minutes… - She whispered. Quistis nodded and talked to the excited prisoner, realising that they had not asked how he was called.

- What's your name, friend? - She said with a warm smile. The Shumi did not answer for a while; he was anxiously staring at Kristyne's hands and face. When Quistis was going to repeat her question, he suddenly raised his head and gazed directly to her.

- A name… a name I used to have, yes. Lius? Tydus? Maul? Doul? Loum? Loum… yes, Loum it was. I, Loum am named. - He said. He suddenly began to babble after that. - Loum… doum, roum, soum, loud, soun, sounds? Yes, loud sounds… loud sounds my ears pierced, my brain pierced, my mind pierced. Unbearable noise… horrible noise… torment, torment, torment… horrible torments… - he went on like that, until Kristyne stood up.

- Done. You are free from those chains, Loum. - She said. The Shumi, with an eager expression in his face, tried to get up several times, but to no avail. He finally gave up, in frustration.

- Weak. Weak, I am. I… starve. I, not strong enough am. I can move not, no longer. I'm damned… damned… harmed… Starved… Carried? - He looked hopefully to Quistis. She glanced to Rinoa, to Kristyne, and then to Loum, worried. Rinoa was the first to speak: 

- One of you - She looked at the men. - Will have to carry him until we arrive to the ship. - "I'm not in the mood right now to make levitate a Shumi that has gone nuts all around this blue hell," she bitterly added to herself. 

Seifer and Zell looked to each other, frowning. Irvine simply snorted. Finally, Zell gave a step inside the cell.

- Oh, all right, I will do it… - he approached to the Shumi. - If you'll excuse me… - Kristyne couldn't help to smile as he, without many contemplations, lifted the slim Shumi and put him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Seeing the annoyed look of Seifer, Quistis and Rinoa, he asked. - What? What's the matter?

- Carry him _delicately, Zell. He's in a very fragile state. - Rinoa explained._

- Oh! - Zell did as she had said, carrying Loum in a more proper way. The Commander glanced impatiently to her wristwatch.

- We have spent too much time in this repulsive lab. We will free the other prisoner and leave the talking for later, so, move out. 

They left the room quietly and, with Kristyne's indications, reached the other inhabited cell.

- Boredom, you said, Rinoa? - Quistis asked in a whisper. Seeing the Sorceress' nod, she approached to the door and asked as before: - Hello? Is anyone there?

The reply did not make them wait:

- You already know ze ansver. Vy do you ask, zen? - A voice inside the cell said. Everyone, even Irvine, deeply frowned. Everyone, even Irvine, though: "Of course." Everyone recognized the voice, and the peculiar accent. They should have known that any scientific atrocity should be attached immediately to the name Odine. Why he was trapped in what surely was his own research laboratory? That was something they would have to obtain from him. A moan came from behind the Commander, from the Shumi that was in Zell's strong arms. She looked in Loum's direction, to discover that he was completely panicked all of sudden. His eyes went to one SeeD to another, burying his body into Zell's arms. Words came out of his mouth in terrified disorder, true fear within them.

- No! Voice! Torturing again, torturer he again, no! Let him NOT come to out! Horrible... unspeakable voice... no, no, no! Sounds! Piercing sounds! Piercing machines! Destroyed... my partners... destroyed... all destroyed, all killed... not again. - He suddenly fell silent, but his eyes continued moving hysterically, almost out of their sockets. Rinoa went immediately to his side, trying to comfort him with sweet words, caressing his pale yellow forehead, treating him like a scared child. Quistis looked back to the door, and talked to Dr. Odine through it, without hiding her repugnance towards him.

- Odine… why are you in there? Your own employees finally decided to let you die from starvation to make you pay for your sins against humanity?

- I don't know vat are you talking about, Trepe. Free me and stop viz zis nonsense.**

- Oh, you don't know? Really? What about the HSI virus, for example? Or those horrible Ethernoi monsters _you brought from the moon? The thing is, do you __deserve to be freed, Odine? - Her voice grew even bitterer - I think not. I don't have any time to waste with __your life._

- You need me, and you know it. Or you don't vant to know vat happened here? Then I vill sit here until I die, and all I know vill die viz me - He stated. Quistis scowled even more. They had the Shumi, but Odine would surely know much more about that place than Loum. And she could not lose so valuable information. Reluctantly, she agreed.

- You win, Odine. But you will tell us _everything you know about this, understand?_

- Very vell, very vell, open ze stupid door now. 

- Kristyne... - The Commander said. Kristyne simply talked from her position, a metre or so behind her.

- Don't worry, it's not locked. Odine can't go out because it can only be opened from outside. Just turn the handle.

Quistis put her gloved hand on the handle of the cell door, and began to turn it. Just then, she felt Rinoa's hand on hers, stopping her, with a warning in her eyes and lips.

- I... have a bad feeling about this, Quistis. We should not open this door. - She whispered. Quistis replied in the same tone.

- Are you insinuating that it is not Odine who's behind it?

- No, I'm sure that he is Odine. But... I feel a great danger; don't ask why, because not even I know. It is very... strange. I can't describe it with words.

- We truly need him, Rinoa. He has the answers to all our questions... and I assure you we have _many, many questions. We must assume the risk... - They both fell silent for a while, trying to make a decision. Finally, with a sad sigh, Rinoa spoke._

- Very well, then... - She took a step back, and so did the others, that had listened fearfully to the worrying conversation. Quistis glanced to everyone, nodded, and took a deep breath (the deepest breath she had taken ever, she thought). Then, she slowly, carefully moved the handle, sweat running down her forehead. The door finally, with a soft 'click', opened... and nothing happened. Odine's voice came from the blue darkness, breaking the horrible, oppressive silence.

- You are very lucky. Now, ve should run if ve don't vant to blow in pieces.

- What!? - Quistis shouted. Odine continued.

- I don't know vy zey put a timer, but ve shouldn't try to find it out now. Ve should run like hell instead. Could you carry me? I fear I'm too veak... - He said. At the moment that they all understood what those words implicated, a soft humming came to their ears from afar. The Commander's gaze met the Sorceress', Kristine's met Irvine's, and Seifer's met Zell's, all eyes incredibly wide open. Loum looked stupidly at their expressions. In a second, they all began to move; Seifer entered the cell like a lightning and went out with a gaunt Odine over his shoulder. They all ran wildly towards the entrance of the Lab, trying to avoid the obstacles on the floor. Quistis gave orders to Zell as they ran, shouting with all the power of her lungs:

- Zell, make the Ragnarok land in front of the cave!

- I can't with a Shumi in my arms! Take, Kristyne! - He shouted to her, that was the closest. The aforesaid took the remote control that the blond SeeD offered her and managed to operate it while running. The fact that they had to shout made Quistis think for a while. She realized that what had been a barely audible buzz was now quite a strong sound, and it grew louder every stride they gave, making them yell over it. You don't notice things like that immediately in a situation where you are running for your life... as fast as she could, she went through one of the doors that led into the huge circular room.

They were running through the main room; the sound was so strong that everything was trembling, and some crystals broke because of vibrations. The floor was trembling more and more; they difficultly managed to not fall to the ground as they came closer to the exit. Rinoa was running beside the water tanks, when they could not resist the vibrations any more and broke. Countless glass pieces went through the air and some hit her hard, making her fall over a myriad of broken crystals, close to some sparking cables. The crystals painfully cut her hands, forearms, knees and face when she fell to the ground. The pain made her grit her teeth. "I will have time to heal the wounds later," She thought. And that thought made her realise something: in the commotion, she had completely forgotten her powers! The mind of a Sorceress is something extraordinary. It is very difficult to understand a normal human mind, to imagine its thoughts; to understand or imagine the complexity of a Sorceress' one is almost impossible. The fact is that, in less than a tenth of a second, an internal conflict took part within her; something that made her finally realise that what Edea had told her was slowly, but inexorably, happening; something that dreadfully scared her. This is just an approximated explanation of what happened inside her brain: 

The first thing she thought was that she could escape from there in a second if she wanted to, go to a relatively safe place with her magic… not caring for her friends. Their lives mattered very little for her; She even thought "I will avenge Selphie without their help if I have to". She almost did what she had thought, thinking that there would be no way to save them, or worse, not caring if there was a way. Then, she realized what she was thinking: leaving her friends, her most loved friends there, letting them die horribly without doing anything to save them? She would die before doing that; she would risk her life for them, not caring for her own, as she had always done. They were their family, the only family she had: without them, she'd surely die. That was the correct decision, that was what she had and was going to do; but the fact that she had been so close to take the first option, the fact that she had even _considered_ it was what frightened her: since she was a Sorceress, she had never, ever considered to put her interests first than the others'. Noticing that she had no time to lose, she rapidly threw out of her mind these thoughts and tried to save her companions' lives… or perish with them in the attempt. She stood up. Her eyes turned amber, dozens of pale blue veins covered her cheeks and arms' skin, and an aura of the purest white appeared around her black clothed body as a cloud of white, pristine feathers surrounded her…

Irvine would not give up. He knew that surely they were going to die there; it was obvious that the first explosion was imminent, and the lab would blow in pieces with them inside. But, despite he was sure that all was lost, he kept running with inexhaustible determination. He would never accept death before avenging Selphie. Something softly touched him on his right shoulder as he heard the word _'haste'_ whispered inside his brain. He slightly turned his head to see what it was, but he merely saw a white and black light ball passing by his side with incredible velocity; a _winged_ light ball, that left behind of it a trail of shining white feathers. The effects of the spell were immediate; Irvine could move now twice as fast as before, his body felt lighter… he could feel how time literally _expanded_ for him. He couldn't help to smile. Now, with a bit of luck, they would escape alive. And nothing would stop him from taking revenge. 

- Keep running! – Quistis shouted uselessly. The sound was so strong now that no one could hear her. "Odine will pay for this… if we survive." She thought. "He is responsible of this, not me… it's not my fault… it's not my fault…" Despite her thoughts, she felt inside her that it was _her_ fault. She had led them, her SeeDs, her friends, to their deaths. She felt they would die because of her. She almost gave up running from guiltiness, from desperation. Just then, she felt a tender hand on her shoulder, and the word _'haste'_ whispered inside her head. She noticed that suddenly all things around her passed by her side faster; extremely faster, indeed. She did not need to turn her head to know what had happened. A falling feather made her nose tickle as hope reborn inside her heart.

Seifer hated Odine with each particle of his body. It was he who killed Raijin and Fujin. They finally died, after a week of suffering and agony, six years before, victims of the HSI virus that affected a portion of Esthar, Balamb and Trabia. The vaccine was developed (by the same Odine that had created it) just before it reached Galbadia. And now the fact that he was forced to save him was eating him from within… just like the virus did to his dear friends. He was among the few people that happened to be completely immune to the virus effects, and he would never forget what he felt seeing them dying, seeing Raijin agonising, babbling senseless words… seeing Fujin, his dear strong Fujin, silently crying in pain… tears he had shared with her, tears he had kissed from her deadly pale cheeks… "If it was my decision, Odine, I'd let you die here like the dirty rat you are." He thought. "But we need you… for now. You will pay after we take the information from you, Odine, I swear. You will pay for making Fujin cry. You will pay for making Raijin beg for a fast death." The ground trembled rougher and rougher for moments. Seifer did not see an obstacle that had moved in front of him; he tripped on it, and almost fell. Trying to gain a precarious balance he put a hand on one of the ruined computers with his free hand; the sharpened broken crystal of a screen cut his palm, making him grit his teeth. And was just there, with an overwhelming roar piercing his ears, the floor under his feet trembling, disorder and chaos surrounding him, blood running down his black gloved hand, where he realised he would not be able to make Odine pay later, that there would never be a 'later' for him. Despite it, he managed to continue running with a silent Odine over his left shoulder, following Zell towards an exit he would never reach. Something roughly touched his right shoulder, and he heard the word _'haste'_ inside his head. He recognized the common spell and knew what would happen then: his feet barely touched the ground as his legs and all his body trespassed time, moving twice as fast as before. A ball of white and black colours passed like a bullet by his side, reaching Zell in less than a second. They had a possibility to escape now, and he knew it was thanks to _her_. Instead of gratitude, or relief, he felt hatred invading his body as he ran towards the entrance of the lab.

"We won't make it. We won't make it!" Zell was running like never before in his life. He was the second, only Kristyne ahead of him, a few metres far; they were running through the middle of the huge main room. "This place looks much bigger than before!" The roar of what surely were tons of explosives in an activation process was so loud, so unbearable, that he almost couldn't hear his own thoughts. What had been a barely noticeable weight in his arms was turning slowly in a burden heavy as lead. "We are going to die here…" Suddenly, something touched his right shoulder as he felt the word _'haste'_ whispered inside his head. He slightly turned his head to see a shining silver and obsidian sphere of light passing by his side at extraordinary speed. The effects of the spell were immediately noticeable as he ran to the now extremely close (now, it looked much closer for him) exit. A rush of relief invaded his body like a divine elixir, making his legs run even faster.

Kristyne glanced back sporadically to see how others were doing. The exit was close enough for her to maintain an agonizing hope alive, despite she had to make more and more efforts to keep balance. She was running so fast that her feet almost did not touch the ground, but she felt that it was not fast enough. "Just a little more… it's close… just a little faster…" She glanced back again, and her eyes opened wide; something, a sort of lightning ball of white and black tones and golden in the middle was going from SeeD to SeeD with astonishing velocity, reaching her in just a second. It touched her shoulder, and continued towards the entrance of the lab. As she heard the word _'haste'_ whispered to her ear, a rain of white feathers told her that hope would not die so easily.

Rinoa went up the stairs without touching them surrounded by a white aura, her magical wings silently, rapidly flapping, making her float over the floor. She stopped on top of them, and the seconds turned into hours as she waited for her friends to appear. The shattering clamour and the unbearable trembling was making the stair corridor collapse, parts from the ceiling falling to the floor, so the passage was filled with dust. She knew they were running out of time. "They won't be able to go through that," she thought. Joining act to thoughts, she managed to focus and ignore the piercing sound as she raised her hands in front of her and casted a wind spell, slightly modified to fit her necessities. A sudden whirlwind appeared from nowhere at the bottom of the stairs and rapidly moved towards the exit of the building, the magical wind absorbing and pushing the dust and some broken ceiling pieces with it. It passed under the concentrated Sorceress without touching her, and went out of the structure, dying outside. Just then Kristyne appeared, moving extremely fast, followed by Zell, Seifer, Quistis and finally Irvine. Quistis said something to her, but she could not hear her or any other thing apart of the horrible noise. Despite she was exhausted (making her body move with such velocity, casting spells while doing it and that last whirlwind had almost finished with her energies) she managed to use her magic once again: she closed her hands, like grabbing something, and the bigger pieces of ceiling that had not moved with the wind began to levitate, irradiating a purple / violetaura, moving out of the SeeDs way, passing under her as the other spell did. The SeeDs had to make it on their own now, she had done all she could. They were reaching Rinoa's position already, their legs moving so fast it was difficult to see them, going up the now free of obstacles stairs. The Sorceress turned around and, making a prodigious effort to not fall unconscious, she headed for the Ragnarok, now landed in front of the 'natural' cave. She almost did it. She fell on the fresh grass, at a few metres from the ship, utterly exhausted. The last thing she could hear before fainting was a ravaging explosion that made the ground below her violently tremble, but she didn't care any more. The Estharian moon appeared to smile at her as she closed her eyes.

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_*Actually, it HAS sense, ya know? See…__ Arcane Language: Aine = Me, I, myself; adowe = obey, attend (inadowe=to obey) hyne = change, freedom, free; kain- = suffix -ing; don = force, power; amare = because / love; Io serei = myself, my being, my presence; Xumare = Sorceress; Ainetoh =Rinoa, the Sorceress name; fedeix = command, give order (infedeix=to command); in- = the 'to' of an infinitive; hyvete = disappear, go away; aninhare = you, yourself, your presence. So, "Aine non adowe, kainhyne don amare io serei, Ainetoh Xumare, fedeix inhyvete aninhare…" Come to be more or less "Obey me, changing forces because I, Sorceress Ainetoh, command you to disappear..." _

**Author's note: Despite certain person (thanks again, if you're reading this J) told me how it was, I don't know if I put Odine's accent correctly… I hope I did, but if not, sorry. 

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** **

**19. Changing Shadows**

** **

Rinoa was really scared. Someone, or _something was following her, but she couldn't see what, only able to hear its deep breathing. She was walking through the streets of Deling by night, her heels knocking loudly in the silent darkness of the deserted city. The breathing was approaching, and she fastened the pace. Suddenly she heard a long, horrible howl beside her, and, in complete panic, began to run as fast as she could, trying to escape from the beast that persecuted her. She turned a corner, and abruptly bumped into a dark form that tenderly embraced her. __"Don't be afraid, Rinoa." The shadow whispered in her ear, his dark hand caressing her hair. __"I'm here, I'll protect you". She knew that voice, a voice she had once loved, a voice she knew in each detail. But this time it would not fool her; no, she would not fall again to his lies. She pushed him away with all her strength. "_I don't need you, I never did!_" Tears ran down her cheeks. "_I never needed you, I can defend myself now, you can't imagine the magnitude of my powers! I hate you, leave me alone!"_ She could perceive his sad, hurt, disappointed expression. The shadow turned, and left her where she was. The creature was coming, but she didn't care any more; her powers would protect her, nothing would harm her. The beast approached, and she began to cast one of her most powerful spells. She pronounced each word exactly, perfect in each detail, but nothing happened. Confused, she tried other spell, but nothing. Panic invaded her body as the demon raised one of its claws. __"No! My powers! Don't leave me now!" she cried out in terror as it, ignoring her pleads, brought its claw down. __"No…" Suddenly all went black. The pain was insufferable as the claws and fangs of the creature tore skin, flesh and bone…_

- Rinoa! Rinoa, awake! – Quistis had her hands on the Sorceress' shoulders, trying to calm her excited body, and occasionally slapped softly her cheeks, trying to awake her from her bad dreams. Rinoa opened wide her eyes all of sudden with a muffled scream, and glanced around utterly frightened. She recognized the face of her friend in a sea of confusion and terror, and embraced her with all the little strength that remained within her weakened body, Quistis being the life vest that would not let her sink deeper in the dreadful waters of horror. 

- Quistis! – she said as she embraced her, her voice trembling with relief, with pleading hope, her eyes filled with tears. – Please, Quistis, don't let it come closer… help me Quistis… I'm so afraid… - the Commander worriedly tapped her back, trying to comfort her. She had not expected this sort of awakening.

- Calm yourself, Rinoa, please. You are safe now, we are in the Ragnarok, heading for Balamb Garden. Just calm down and rest, okay?

Rinoa's trembling slowly stopped, as she assimilated what was happening around her. She reluctantly moved away from her friend and softly wiped out the tears from her eyes.

- I… I'm sorry, Quistis, I couldn't control myself… - She glanced around her; she was sitting now in the Ragnarok's mini-infirmary bed. She suddenly remembered all what had happened: the laboratory, the prisoners, Odine, the explosives, her magic… - What happened? I… don't remember anything after seeing you go up the stairs.

Quistis smiled warmly to her. Without her, they would be dead in that moment. 

- You fainted; your body couldn't bear it any more. Kristyne saw you as she headed for the ship, and brought you inside. You shouldn't force yourself to such extremes, Rinoa. You know it is very dangerous.

- I had… to do it. I don't care for my life; it's my mission, Quistis, it's my necessity. My mission as a SeeD; my necessity as a Sorceress. I don't do it for your lives, I do it for myself. Otherwise… you know what might happen. – She closed her eyes, and put her right hand on her forehead as she lie on the bed again. – My head aches…

- Quite normal. – Quistis replied. Rinoa hated that people expressed gratitude to her, and the Commander knew it. She also knew that she didn't do it entirely for herself; it was her love to her friends that compelled her to perform such acts. – We will talk widely later, _my friend._ – She said, putting special emphasis in the last two words.- Now just rest until we reach Balamb Garden. We will interrogate Odine, and Loum, there. 

- Loum? Oh, the Shumi… What happened after I fainted? – Asked the Sorceress, ignoring her advice. Quistis slightly frowned but replied equally.

- Kristyne, who was the first, saw you fall to the ground and stay there. She ran to you,and put your body over her shoulders. We hurried to the Ragnarok. Just when Irvine had put his feet on the platform of the ship, Kristyne and Zell made it raise from the ground. Just then, the first explosion made the earth violently tremble, generating a chain of explosions that did not stop until the lab, and around a kilometre of the city around it, was utterly destroyed. I don't know how the fuselage of the Ragnarok resisted the commotion, but it did. – She stood up from the bed, and sighed. – It was horrible being inside that ball of fire and smoke… I don't even know how we are still alive. – She stopped for a while and looked to the lying Sorceress' dark brown eyes.-A miracle I guess… – She added, andsmiled as Rinoa pursed her lips. Before she could answer, Quistis left the room, making the door close behind her.

**20. The opposite force**

** **

Four SeeDs and the Sorceress are with him in the interrogation room. Odine can barely see their faces, but he recognizes Heartilly's and Trepe's voices, and occasionally that full of hatred one… Almasy, he thinks the man is called. The two others don't talk; one of them, a male he thinks, appears to be recording the interrogation. He hears the Witch's voice.

- Now is time to explain, Odine. Answer each question we ask you with the truth, please. Your lies won't work with me. – She says to the scientific.

- I haf no interest in lying to you. – He replies, scornfully. – For now, it is useful zat you know ze truz.

Then the blonde bitch begins to interrogate him, with the most stupid questions someone can think of. 

- First of all, what does GER-47P mean.

He can't believe those stupid SeeDs hadn't figured out already.

- Genetic Experimentation Research, investigation project number forty-seven. – He says. She asks once more.

- What is it for.

- Using genetic experimentation, basing on some special creatures, create new beings, new individuals. I must say it vas a total success… unfortunately for you. – Odine can perceive their deep scowls. He smiles to himself.

- For what. – She asks.

- For creating new life forms, of course! Ze objective of zat? Simple curiosity. It began around four years ago… zere's no one in the vorld zat vould achieve such progress in such little time. Isn't zat vonderful enough for you? I've created a vole new race! And, for vat I've seen, a race zat vill exterminate you all. – Now, every member of that barbarian tribe in the room, even the Witch, seems surprised and upset at a time. Those brainless SeeDs can't conceive the prodigies that science can provide. They have come into light now, and Odine can study their expressions. The Witch recovers first, and spits her words to him.

_Irvine…_

- A new _intelligent _race? That's impossible! I know that's impossible… yet you are saying the truth! 

- Of course i's possible. – He contains his insults inside his mouth for his own good. He is not stupid; those SeeDs without self-control got angry very easily. – I have investigated a lot, Sorceress. I have experimented a lot, too. I guess you saw some of the failed ones… 

Trepe opens her mouth now, and speaks her inept words, with a horrified, hateful expression in her face.

- _Some?_ There were more than those in the water tanks?

- Of course. Zose vere just the living ones. – He smiles wickedly. Trepe scowls even more, and continues with the tedious interrogation.

_I love you…_

- Let's forget about that for the moment… - She says with gritting teeth.- Now we will focus on those… creatures. explain everything about them, Odine; how much did you create, who and how are they. – Odine replies with utmost indignation. 

- Zey are not just "creatures", you fool! Zey are perfect… deadly perfect, indeed. Zey are better zan humans, somezing I did not expect. You vouldn't haf found me inside zat mouldy cell if zey veren't smarter zan zeir creators. I… - Odine's explanation is interrupted by Trepe.

- Creators? Who else was involved in that project? – The scientific, upset by the interruption, replies irritated.

- My assistants, obviously! But don't vorry. Zey all are dead now. _Zey_ took care of zat.

_But I want revenge…_

- Why didn't they kill you too? – A disdainful grin appears in Odine's face.

- Because I'm not obtuse! – "As _you_ are," he adds to himself. – I took precautions… I modified a certain portion of zeir psyche, inhibiting zeir capacity to kill me, incredible pain seizing zem if zey merely zought about it. For you to understand it, I neutralised zeir capacity to harm me physically or mentally… in a direct vay. Zey realized zat, but zought of an alternative manner: simply confine me in a dirty cell, and let me die from starvation… or from bloving in pieces, vhatever happened first.

- Continue describing that 'perfect' race. – Odine manages to control his anger against her doubtful tone, and answers normally.

_I'll never leave you…_

- Les' start from ze beginning. Around four years ago, I vas investigating ze nature of one of ze most vonderful creatures over Kholos, our planet: ze Shumi people. Zey, vizout being supernatural monsters viz intellect, like ze ruby dragons and very few ozers, had an incredibly developed intelligence. But zat vas not vat intrigued me at first; it vas zeir mutating ability vat amazed me. Most Shumis, as you might know already, mutate into different sorts of creatures, depending on ze nature of ze Shumi; and not only mutate into 'moombas' or 'elders', as you might think, despite zese are ze most common. It occurs in a time zat humans vould call puberty; but, dislike ze human puberty, ze changes experimented in ze Shumi's body are not progressive: zose changes take part vizin a very short amount of time, around two or zree hours, on average. Ozer zing zat astounded me vas zeir longevity… zose who do not change can last for at least five centuries. A moomba dies relatively fast: around seventy years… but did you know zat an 'elder' can live more zan an entire millennium? – _Avenge me… - _And zat vizout talking about ozer transformations I've seen, like the Terrs or the extremely rare (and extremely intelligent) Vulciinks – Odine enjoys their puzzled expressions when they hear the unknown terms. He is completely sure he's the only one in the world that has studied, or even seen, those creatures, the only one that has heard their voices and learned about all they could say to him. - … for zose, time is meaningless. But retaking the zread, I vas studying zem ven I realised ze incredible possibilities zeir avesome metabolism offered. Ze result of four years of hard research, experimentation and, I assure you, many disappointments, you could see it. My lab completely destroyed, all ze information lost, and a new race ofsuper-creatures zat hate humans… but it vas vorzvile, ohh, sure it vas. Ze 'Uktumi tribe', as zey call zemselves (quite a better name zan Project 47), are ze most incredible and marvellous among my creations. – Odine is enjoying his explanation. Exposing his developments to the SeeDs is a pleasure he can't describe.-I vas able to create just eight before zey began ze rebellion, but zey are intelligent. Zey know how to create more, I'm completely sure. But, I've not described zem yet. Physically, zey are somezing extraordinary. Ze same Uktumi can be ze most beautiful rose, and ze ugliest of monsters, venever he vants. Zas' because zey can _morph _into ozer forms, zey can change zeir appearance as zey please. I, viz my genius intelligence, modified ze shumi's changing properties, and viz – _Give me his blood… - _some manipulations you can't even understand, I made possible to zem to control zeir ability. But, the Uktumi aren't based just in the Shumis… I've vorked viz many different species of creatures, and I found some zat vere compatible viz the Shumis… humans among zem – He pauses, expecting a dramatic effect. Enjoying the SeeDs' frowns, he continues - Again zanks to zeir metabolism, I vas able to define viz exactitude zeir mutations. I vill skip all ze process I vent zrough, and go directly to ze final result: - _I will help you…- _apart of zeir exquisite, elegant normal appearance (zey mainly look like an elder, but viz much more refined shapes. – Odine can't hide how proud of his creation he is. – Zeir skin is covered by brilliant red fur, like moombas', and zeir face is more feline zan shumi; zeir stylised hands are habile and delicate, ze movement of zeir vole bodies is graceful and harmonious. Only zeir eyes, zose marvellous, glowing purple eyes show how deadly zeir intelligence is.) Ze standard Uktumi can morph into zree totally different forms, venever zey vant: One of zem is ze "Shuman form": in zis form, zey look like humans, exteriorly. Ze most beautiful, pretty humans you can see, indeed; zey are perfection made beauty. And zas' vat vill help you find one: zey are _unnaturally _beautiful. Very vell, ozer form is the "Varrior form": zey adopt it ven zey have to fight, obviously. Zeir body zen becomes practically an incredibly improved version of a Terr, viz some modifications. – _He deserves it… - _A big but agile body, viz fibrous muscles able to crush anyzing zat gets in zeir vay; zeir upper pair of arms end in incredibly sharp claws, vile ze ozer pair has attached to zem a razor blade each. Zeir legs are extremely strong, making zem able to move exceptionally fast and jump very long distances, unlike the Terr, zat has no legs, but an ophidian bottom zat makes zeir movement very slow. Zey have a pair of vestigial vings on zeir back, zat zey use to jump even furzer. But is zeir head vat is more frightening: a big devilish head, normally viz a pair of large, black horns… a mouz full of deadly fangs, viz poison in zeir tips; and ze eyes… ze gloving purple eyes able to freeze you in panic vere you are viz zeir gaze. I guess zas enough about zem, but notice zat I'm just talking about ze standard Uktumi. Zey all have zese transformation abilities and no ozers, but zere are plenty of variations vizin each; each one of zem is different, as humans are, and partly because I used different sorts of creatures as basis. Oh, also, zey can morph into a Shumi too… ze only difference between zem and ze real ones are zeir purple eyes. – _I love you… - _Zat is, in a very short summary, vat ve haf between our hands. Vell… vat you, Trepe, haf in your hands. – He finishes talking. The silence that follows is something so oppressive, so dreadful, that it is unbearable. But no one can break it. The SeeDs are unable to think, unable to move, as they slowly realise the magnitude, the huge magnitude of what is going on. Only a word, just a word overwhelms the mind of each person in the room: "_Why"_. A voice, the Sorceress', raises from the abyss of silence.

_Avenge me…_

- When, when will Laguna learn to control this wretch? – She whispers.

_Avenge my death…_

- Oh, by ze vay, Laguna is surely dead now. Zey had a plan of action, I'm sure. Zey sent ze missiles, and zen eliminating Laguna vas going to be zeir next movement. - _With his blood…- _I don't know more about it, zough.– He states. Again, silence. Horrible silence only interrupted by the soft deaf sounds of the recorder. Odine still has his wicked smile on his lips, pleased with the effect his words, and his actions, had in the hated SeeDs. Finally, Trepe speaks her mind, with a mixture of hatred and fear in her whispered voice.

_Kill him!_

- _Why, _Odine? Why? – She manages to say. She goes on muttering it, like a litany. – Why…

_Now!_

- WHY? – The atmosphere suddenly explodes in anger, the most burning anger a human can produce. This almost tangible ball of pure hatred is headed directly to Odine. The only SeeD that had not discovered his presence to the scientific was now under the room's light. His face was totally twisted with hatred and anger, fire burning inside his eyes, but the other three SeeDs and the Sorceress could recognize him: Irvine Kinneas. He continued talking, shouting his words to Odine. - I'LL TELL YOU WHY!! BECAUSE HE IS A SADISTIC BASTARD!!! – Odine's scornful expression changes completely. He sees what Kinneas holds in his hand.

The outraged SeeD raises his rifle, aims to Odine's head and pulls the trigger.

_Kill him!_

- Irvine! – Heartilly yells.

_Kill him!!_

- Vait, I know zeir veak p… - He can't pronounce more words. This time no one is fast enough to stop Irvine from shooting, but no one would have been able to stop such will power anyway if they had tried. With a noise that hits hard the walls of the silent room, the bullet goes out of the weapon and passes through the nose of the scientific in an ascendant trajectory, breaking through the skull, reaching the brain and going out through the occipital bone. The grey matter of the genius, mixed with his blood, dirt the back wall of the room.

_Thank you, my love… _

Kinneas puts out his rifle. Without saying anything more, goes out of the interrogation room.

_I love you…_

** **

**21. Selphie's Weapon**

Quistis was speechless. She glanced to Seifer, to Morien Shathletorn (A trustful SeeD that was recording the interrogation), to Rinoa, and then to the bloody corpse that once had been Odine. Finally reacting, forgetting the dreadful "confession" the Scientific had made, she gave a withering glare to the Sorceress before hurrying out of the room after Irvine. He was walking down the corridor, apparently heading for the elevator. Quistis reached him and grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to look at her. The Commander practically shouted to his expressionless face.

- Why in hell did you do that!? He still had VITAL information! Do you know what you have done!? We NEEDED him, stupid! – She roughly said. Irvine remained inexpressive, staring directly to her cold sapphire eyes. 

- He deserved it. Finally he has been punished. – He gave his back to his superior, and began to leave. Quistis instantly understood everything. Her words were enough to freeze him where he was. 

- Why do you this to yourself, Irvine? Why you torture your own self in this way? Don't you realise this won't make her come back? Do you really think that Selphie would want that… - She could not finish her phrase. Irvine turned and, with thunder speed, he grabbed her by her shoulders and hurled her against the wall.

- _Don't say her name. _– He merely whispered with utmost anger, his narrowed eyes staring intensely into hers, his hands still grabbing her shoulders, the words passing through his gritted teeth. - _Don't dare to mention her again or I'll kill you with my own hands… you know nothing. Nothing! _– With a grunt, he released her and walked away.

Quistis stood where she was, leaning on the corridor's wall. After a while, instead of being upset, instead of punishing the rebel SeeD for his direct insubordination, she simply shook her head, feeling extremely sad.

- Poor Irvine… - She just muttered, waiting for the sorceress to approach her.

Irvine had a storm of emotions inside his head as he walked to the Quad; everything but happiness. He finally reached it, and sat in a bench that let him look directly to the rocky shore of Trabia, illuminated by a rising sun… the same bench where they had been sitting… exactly a dawn ago. He couldn't believe that it all had happened in just one day; it seemed that he had already passed an eternity without her. And now… there was something that he had not told Quistis, something that had deeply perturbed him. Something that, during all the interrogation, had whispered inside his head… something that compelled him to hate… to remember… to _take revenge_. He had not told her, that he thought he knew what that something was. He had not told her, that he believed that something, was his beloved, his needed, _his_ _dead _Selphie…

A warm lonely tear went down his cheek and fell to the ground, disappearing instantly in the grass of the Quad.

**22. The King is dead…**

As the tear was falling, Quistis sat in her comfortable chair in the commander's office, crossed her legs and looked to the ashamed Rinoa in front of her with a frown in her face. The Sorceress began to talk, with a mixture of culpability, regret and embarrassment in her voice. 

- I apologise to you, Quistis. I… was wrong. I will accept all the responsibility.

- Oh, please, Rinoa… - Quistis said. - We'll discuss that later. Don't blame yourself any more, it's useless; it was not you, nor Irvine who did that.

- You are right, - Rinoa replied, bitterness in her voice. - it was the monster I created. – The Commander pursed her lips.

- I did not want to mean that…

- But you did, and you are right. I should have let him die; at least, he wouldn't be suffering so much in this very moment. 

- You did what you had to do. It was the only option, as you said. You gave him the opportunity to overcome it and go on with his life, and I know he can; it's just a matter of time and effort.

- But he will not overcome if he doesn't want to, and what will happen in that time? Now I see he is dangerous for us all, not only for those who killed Selphie. We can't keep him under vigilance twenty four hours a day, and I cannot even consider to imprison him, at least for those reasons.

- The only way he can overcome it is with the support and the presence of his friends around him.

- Only if we hadn't let him assist to the interrogation…

- Yes, we should have ordered him to be with Kristyne and Zell, interrogating the Shumi. But, that is something that can't be changed now. I hate talking about this, please let's attend the… the other thing. – A note of fear was implied in her tone. 

- Wait, first, what did our little yellow friend tell? I hope his eyes are not purple…

- No, they still are light grey, a little darker than when he was in the cell. And nothing really new… apart of all the senseless babbling Kristyne and Zell had to stand, all were things that Odine explained much better.

- Does he know that… weak point… Odine could not speak of? – Quistis shook her head.

- Don't think about it, okay? We already have a lot of information without counting that. Besides, he could be lying to survive. Perhaps he expected to make us think that we needed him, so we couldn't get rid of him.

- Would you have killed him if not? – It was not an accusation, or a surprised question; it was just curiosity.

- No. I would have let Seifer do whatever he wanted.

- It's the same or even worse.

- Odine _deserved _it. I don't care if it would have been right or not. But now, it does not matter.

They both fell silent, lost in their own thoughts. A minute later, Rinoa slowly raised her head, and finally asked the inevitable question. 

- What are we going to do now, Quistis? – Rinoa did not want to read her mind; there were many times that she preferred to talk normally, and respect the other's privacy, specially when they were important conversations. 

She did not reply immediately, and continued looking absently to nowhere. She turned in her rotating chair, giving her back to the Sorceress, and looked through the huge window to the endless sea, to the rocky coast of Trabia, to the rising sun of dawn.

- I… - She was interrupted by an incoming transmission from the bridge. Quistis turned again to face Rinoa, and Xu appeared in the mini-monitor of the Commander's desk. "Commander, - she began. – come immediately to the communication centre, you should see this. Please hurry."

With a glance to the Sorceress of "What now?", she stood up and they both hurried to see what happened.

**********

- Good morning, Sarah; we are here, in front of the presidential palace, in a special bulletin for the ENC channel awaiting for our President Laguna Loire to appear. He has summoned all the media, along with every man and woman that can assist, to a meeting where he will give a special communication of a very important nature; no more information has been given, only that the national memorandum will be given exactly at seven o'clock on the morning.

- Is the crowd impatient already, Judith?

- No, not yet, just sleepy, for the moment (she smiles) It is something very uncommon for our President to get up so early in the morning, and everyone wonders about what will he say.

- (Smiling too) Very well, thank you Judith, we will connect later with your position. (Judith nods) It's half past six and we have a lot to tell. In other order of things, there has been an enormous explosion…

…

…………………

…- We are connecting again to the Presidential Palace… Judith, anything new? 

- Nothing for the moment, Sarah, but it's almost seven and our President will appear soon; the crowd is patiently waiting as they comment about what is going on; some say that it might be associated to the huge explosion that occurred in the eastern sector around midnight, causing numerous casualties. We have… wait, someone is appearing in the balcony of the residence! (the camera focus on the man who appears) but, definitely it's not the president; it is an unknown man who comes closer to the microphones. He's about to talk. (not-wanted-to-be-heard whisper) Whoa, that guy kicks ass! 

The peculiar man approaches to the microphones and begins to talk. He seems extremely sad.

- People of Esthar. – His voice is soft and harmonious, but strangely strong at a time. It makes the multitude keep immediate silence, like he had cast a spell over them. – Yesterday, exactly at 8:16 in the evening, something horrible happened. – He pauses to apparently dry a falling tear from his perfect cheek. Everyone hold the breath. He starts again, a slight trembling in his voice – Yesterday, people of Esthar, our dear President, Laguna Loire… was… assassinated. – The silence remains, but the change in the atmosphere from expectancy to surprise and horror is almost touchable. The voice goes on, not breaking through this atmosphere, but somehow encouraging it, reassuring it. – Beside him, was the body of his daughter, Miss Ellone Loire, along with the corpses of Kiros Seagul and Ward Zabak. –There is _something _in his voice that keeps the multitude in silence, allowing him to finish his atrocious communicate. His voice grew in anger. – Yesterday, a pack of Galbadian Terrorists infiltrated somehow in the palace passing through our security system undetected, got into the president's room and _brutally assassinated him and his daughter._ – A second later the crowd explodes, with anger, with hatred, with fear and sorrow. The indomitable voice of the man is heard over the roar of the masses, like feeding them. -Galbadia is responsible of our horrible lost! And they will pay for each drop of blood our president shed!! For we _have the right_ to claim REVENGE!!! OUR ENEMIES, THE ENEMIES OF ESTHAR, WILL _FALL_ UNDER OUR _MIGHT_!!!! – The now extremely altered mob roars making the man's voice fade under it; they acclaim the man, acclaim war, acclaim revenge, unleashing all the rage and fury they have inside. Unstoppable fury. Unstoppable rage.

**********

The transmission suddenly stopped, and Xu turned off the now grey screen. She talked. 

- We managed to intercept this transmission, which was only for Esthar City; Galbadia knows nothing about this, and we are lucky too know before it's too late. They did not detect our signal until it was too late to prevent us from seeing it, it seems.

Everyone in the place (Rinoa, Nida and Xu) looked to Quistis, expectantly.

- This… this can't be happening… - The blonde woman whispered. Then she spoke a little louder. – So _that_ was their next step…

- There _is _more, Quistis. – Xu handed a paper with the Estharian Seal on it to her. – We've just received it… - The Commander glanced briefly the document, in increasing disbelief and horror, as Xu described expressionlessly its contents. – Esthar government makes us SeeD direct responsible of the huge explosion that took place today at 2:52 in the early morning, destroying an extremely vital research laboratory and an important part of the eastern sector of the City with it, causing around four hundred victims. They claim that "A group of SeeDs entered the laboratory, killed all the staff, stole Top-Secret information, destroyed critical confidential documents and very important equipment, planted a bomb and left kidnapping Professor Odine, the most important scientific of all times". With that, they officially declare us guilty of High Treachery, Premeditated Assassination, Espionage, Terrorism, Unauthorized Infiltration and many other things. Still, for all the services we have given to them, they would agree to an economical repayment and the immediate devolution of Professor Odine, alive. If this repayment is not fulfilled, they will declare open war against us, for obvious reasons. The mentioned repayment ascends to around ten billion Gil, for city restoration, family compensations, equipment restitution, and so. I must note, however, that we don't have that exceptional sum, and it would take more than twenty years to acquire such amount of money; and Odine… well, we know it's impossible to restore him alive.

She fell silent. Rinoa's sad voice echoed in the place, despite her words were barely more than whisper.

- They know that already, Xu…

- We have exactly two hours to reply, Commander. – Xu stated, ending her report, and waited expecting an answer.

- But that's not true, it was a trap! – Quistis suddenly exploded. – Those… "Uktumis" planned everything! _They_ were those who killed the staff and… - She felt the Sorceress' hand on her shoulder.

- Calm, Quistis. – She glanced to Xu over the Commander's shoulder. – We will give you a reply soon. – her gaze turned again to Quistis. - Can we discuss this in your office?

**23. Need**

Despite her exterior coolness, Rinoa was extremely worried and frightened about what was happening… she couldn't stop repeating to herself"We will go to war… We will go to war…" while she was standing in the middle of the Commander's office, swinging form foot to foot, behind her friend's desk. For once, in many many years, she found herself resource-less. She could not think of a way to prevent this war; diplomacy was virtually dead, paying to Esthar demands was impossible, and every single inhabitant of the most powerful nation in the world was eager to engage them SeeDs and Galbadia. With this estate of things, they would surely go to war; And thinking about winning this war… was as improbable as peace. Such technology, such amount of well-trained soldiers, such machinery and economical resources, and now such insuperable morale… even the civilians would want to participate, adding even more military power. They had possibilities, of course, very few but possibilities at the bottom; but, even if they managed to win, or even survive, it would be so devastating for both sides that it'd be a very poor victory. And behind that, was these 'Uktumi'… what were they up to? The common things, she guessed… become rulers of the world, enslave human race, etcetera. However, they were the only ones who knew of their existence to the date. The black haired woman observed the back of the Commander's chair, absently examining the 'Garden Logo' engraved on it. Quistis had sat there and hadn't said nothing to the moment, presumably lost in her thoughts. She patiently, nervously waited for her to say something.

Quistis watched the deep blue ocean trying in vain to order her thoughts, as her hand caressed distractedly the ring in her pocket. There had happened too many things, she had received too much information in a very short amount of time to assimilate anything properly… the only thing that she knew for sure was that everything seemed to be in _her_ hands. Knowing this terrified her. It terrified her in such an extreme way, she could not move, or even think. Being responsible of the SeeDs was something she handled well; it was difficult, and many times she had been frightened of what to do, but always came to a solution. But this… She stayed there, looking blankly at the sea, until she heard a voice behind her. 

- Quistis? – Rinoa couldn't hold it anymore. – What… what are we going to do now? I'm clueless, what ca…

- How an I supposed to know!? – Quistis' annoyed, desperate reply came from behind the chair, interrupting the Sorceress as she turned to face her. She stood up. – How am I supposed to know what to do with this mess? Should we attack Esthar? Should we remain passive, or try to negotiate? Yesterday I was going to an inauguration party, and today I'm trying to figure out what to do with a world wide war, some supernatural monsters that want to destroy the world, and…! – She noticed Rinoa's startled expression, and realised the uselessness of her words. She let herself fall back to her chair, and sighed in frustration. – please forgive me Rinoa but… - She looked to her face, in distress. – this… this is too much… 

The woman approached her and put a friendly hand on her shoulder, while trying (without much success) to smile reassuringly to her.

- I know, Quistis, you don't have to apologize. We will find a solution, I'm sure… 

- You are, Rinoa? Because I'm not. Every course of action I can think of leads to a catastrophe… war against Esthar? Ha! – She exclaimed with bitterness. - I doubt we can face them even allied with Galbadia, let alone fighting them by ourselves. Negotiation? Impossible, you saw that transmission, and the document… 

- Why don't just tell the truth? It's their word against our recording. – Rinoa knew that this was impossible too, but just wanted to get Quistis out of her hopelessness. She received the answer she expected.

- You know the people of Esthar won't buy that. Come to think on it, their story is much more convincing than ours! Besides, despite we can even prove our version, they won't want to believe it. The want, they _need_ revenge, Rinoa. They must make someone pay for the death of their president, and for the death of four hundred of them, not caring if they are punishing the wrong ones. – she made a little pause, like thinking something over. - Rinoa, I feel… I feel I'm not able to handle this. How can I bear such responsibility? – She looked into her dark brown eyes, and finally brought it out. - How could Squall handle it, Rinoa? How could Squall act with such coldness, such self control, knowing that he had _the destiny of existence in his hands_? – The Sorceress stared coldly into Quistis' azure eyes, her smile disappearing.

- He did not save time alone, Quistis. Without us he would have never succeeded. I think we did some things too, isn't it? 

- But under _his_ orders, Rinoa. We followed his decisions, his commands. We just followed orders, nothing more; it was _he_ who had to decide what to do. 

- Decide? He never decided anything! The situation always forced him to do the things he did.

- Even when he _decided _to leave everything behind and try to save you? – Her words virtually slapped Rinoa in the face. She looked away, and permeated her voice with a harsh cold tone, whispering her words.

- Yes, and after that he decided to abandon me. He decided to make me suffer. He decided to leave everything, caring for no-one but himself. – She stared in her eyes. - What will _you _do, Commander?

- I don't know! I don't know, Rinoa! – She almost shouted. She paused and forced herself to calm, and spoke normally. - Let's try to rationalise this, if it's possible. We must assume that war is unavoidable, and so is a provisional alliance with Galbadia. Since they know nothing, we must prove them what we say is true, which won't be difficult since we have that recording of Odine and Esthar intercepted transmission. Also, we must have Timber, Dollet, Balamb, even Winhill's help… that will be more difficult – Her voice sounded tired, downhearted. – And what then?

- Fight. Fight for our lives, as always.

- But I fear this time we won't win, Rinoa. Just compare our Stalkers to their Gryphons, or Galbadia's MCVs and Siege Tanks to their Destroyers, or their Assault Ships*. Their soldiers and cyborgs are much more disciplined than Galbadia's soldiers. And now, each of their soldiers, pilots and officers' morale is insuperable, they will give to the last drop of their blood to kill us… and just imagine the demoralization our troops, and Galbadian ones, will have when they know the truth, the fact that the most powerful, populous nation of the world will attack us with all it's might, apparently with righteous reasons; the fact that most of them will die soon, the fact that not even their leaders have much hope in winning. 

- SeeDs are the best warriors on the surface of Kholos; each one of them counts as fifteen or twenty soldiers, or even more. – The Sorceress argued.

- Yes, and that's why there are only two hundred ninety three SeeDs in total. You know only seven cadets promote to SeeDs every year, on average.** – She smiled sadly, bitterly, a blank look in her eyes for a brief instant. – I remember only three cadets graduated the year I became a SeeD. It seems so distant now… - She returned to present, sighing. – And Esthar counts with thousands, with _millions _of soldiers, cyborgs, pilots, robots… for one SeeD, there is at least a hundred of Estharian soldiers, or even more! 

- What about the cadets? This is an extreme situation, Quistis.

- The cadets… most of them are just children. You agree with me that we would never send children to battle… they fought eleven years ago because it was an invasion, they were forced to. So, above fifteen years old we have around a thousand cadets, since at least four hundred died… yesterday… - She still couldn't believe that almost a third part of the SeeD institution had been utterly destroyed. All those years of economical sacrifice, of hard work, of hopes and disappointments… all ruined in a few seconds. Sorrow menaced to seize her mind again.

- We will be able to resist, Quistis. – Rinoa's voice broke through her sadness, trying desperately to give her some optimism not even she had. – Just have hope, it's all I ask you. – It seemed like the roles had changed. While Quistis was all 'seeing-the-horrible-truth', Rinoa was suppressing her objectivity and coldness for the good of her friend… she _really _cared for her, and hated to see her in such depressed state. However, she did not know, since she refused to read her mind in this conversation, that the Commander had been directing the thread on purpose to this 'morale problem', that was almost the worse one they had.

- Hope… "Hope, is a candle lit in the middle of the night, that guides us when all is darkness. Don't let anyone extinguish your candle, my dear, and everything will be okay…" – Quistis glanced with a sad half-smile to the Sorceress' face, that was expecting her explanation about what she had just said. – Edea told me that once, many years ago in the orphanage… It just… came to my mind now… I remember it was a rainy day, and I was crying, alone in a corner… I don't remember why I was crying, or why did she say that… but I remember that, despite I didn't understand it then, it made me stop crying… Matron Ede tapped my head softly, lovingly... – Her lost gaze turned to her friend's eyes, going back to the present moment. – I've never let anyone or anything blow my candle, Rinoa… until now. I… feel… my candle is almost dead now, Rinoa, and if this situation has done _this_ to _me_… just think what will it do to our troops' spirit. 

- But… Quistis… - The Sorceress couldn't let it happen; despite her own hope had died long time ago in the discussion, she could not accept defeat.- There must be something… _anything_ to do…

The Commander had been expecting these words during the last twenty minutes, since she caressed Griever, and she knew _exactly_ what to say; she had thought everything so she would not lose the verbal confrontation that was about to take place inside her office. She took a moment to order her thoughts and waited a little to pronounce the words she longed to say.

- Maybe… there _is_ something, Rinoa. I… I think I have something in mind…

End of chapter five.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

*Author's note: 

Gryphon: Mid-air high-velocity close combat ships, better than the Stalkers in weapons and shields, but a little slower. They look like… well, I don't know how to describe them… they have three cannons, one in each side and one more over them, looking kinda triangular if you look from behind them; they also are equipped with four Air-Air missiles; the pilots go in the centre of the ship, efficiently covered; it has two reactors at the rear on each side of it to move. 

MCV: Mechanical Combat Vehicle. Remember Robocop 2 machine with the evil drug-addict inside? More or less… or Starcraft Goliaths, they look alike too… well, they are operated mechwarriors, essentially

Destroyer: Heavy support cruiser, heavy troop and small fighter transport and small repairing bay; all kind of close combat lasers and turrets, heat-guided missiles, ground bombs, and many other thingies… also has a small repairing bay specially designed for Gryphons, and if they manage to get over the target ground, it can be used as a transport to troops with personal reactors, or parachutes.

Assault Ship: The Estharian transport vessel, with very strong shields and also equipped with three operated heavy machine-gun turrets; it can transport up to 75 soldiers, cyborgs or minor robots; it's mainly used for fast disembarks. 

**other Author's note: In 25 years of existence (more or less), seven SeeDs from Balamb's exam and seven from Galbadia's (Trabia ones examined in Balamb) each year… counting with the reasonable casualties, around three hundred are alive at that moment.

-------------------------------------------------------------------


	7. Part I Chapter six: The Gathering(s).

Warrior Soul

**Warrior Soul**

_Part I: Chosen one_

**_ _**

**_By Tanthalas Fierolobo_**

**_ _**

"We must hold our past in our minds, to understand the present, and be able to hope and work for a better future, for, only in that way, our life will truly have a meaning."

- Lady Edea Kramer, Ex-Sorceress, teachings to Rinoa Heartilly.

__

**_CHAPTER SIX:The Gathering(s). _**

**24. Council **

An unknown place, an unknown world, an unknown dimension. Twenty formless niches, one more above them all. Twenty formless existences, made of pure magic energy, occupying each one of the niches; and one above them all. They talked to each other, without talking. They glanced at each other, without seeing. They exposed their thoughts and impressions in perfect synchronization, without pauses between each other; they didn't need it. They exchanged thoughts and emotions following an order, a very special order, according to the ancient protocol that had always existed. The Twenty spoke their minds (in the most strict sense of the expression). The One remains silent. 

- Are you sure he is worth?

- No one can be completely sure of nothing, never.

- The philosophers spoke… your words are as banal as always.

- Yet they are true. We are here to be as sure as we can be.

- We get tired of this. This is useless, it does not matter if he is worth; he has been chosen already.

- He must become stronger.

- We trust him. We have shared with him and he has shared with us. We have grown to _know _him. He is worth.

- Your judgement means nothing to us.

- It should mean to you. We consider your judgement inestimable.

- Yet we cannot rely just on that.

- We must see by ourselves, so We will support him willingly.

- He has our approval, We have seen enough through all this time.

- But there are many things that must be decided.

- All is ready, though. Time spares no one.

- There is enough time for this, twits.

- Call twits someone you know better. You do not know what We are capable of, and you do not want to. We will see what is _he_ capable of.

- Yes. We too. We do not trust him, yet.

- We must keep watching, to them all. 

- Specially _her_. 

- Yes. She is being tested, too. But not in the same way.

- She will go with him. We all agreed to tell the other mortal his location.

- Yes, but we will not interfere in that unless they ask again; they will be free to decide it.

- As free as any human can be of course.

- But she must be prepared equally, just in case.

- They all will be prepared, in a way or another. 

- They are passing through an inflection point of their short lives.

- Mortals must learn to collaborate.

- If they want to survive.

- We know many will not survive.

- It is inevitable, they are condemned to perish; the "how" does not matter.

- For you. We still disagree to this.

- Only the stronger ones will survive, as we expect.

- And he will be among them.

- We are not so sure about that.

- Indeed.

They silenced. They sensed the One wanted to talk, and respectfully let him, not out of fear, but out of acknowledgement. He had earned the right many time ago. The One "stood up", in a figured meaning since he had no legs under this form, and spoke.

- We will see. He is strong, in all senses; We have made his incredible potential grow and develop, making him stronger. They are strong, too; all of them were, in the beginning… specially _her_. Still, We cannot be completely sure. He has succeeded to the moment but… We, and we all, will see.

The Twenty faded. The One stayed, silent. The conclave had ended… for now. 

**25. Unexpected encounter**

- Hungry. – Skorchklot complained again. They had been wondering for many hours; the sun had faded in the horizon long ago and dawn was going to break, but the starved creatures hadn't found anything to eat… what was understandable considering the two Sapphire Dragons* were on the Bridge that communicated the continent of Galbadia with Esthar. Each step the biped creatures gave with their blue-scaled, short legs moved them away of any potential food they might have been able to find.

- Yes. Hungry too. – Agreed Thirn'hlurf, his stronger superior. They continued forward, not knowing that the bridge was hundreds of kilometres long. They had been thrown away from their herd, for 'being too stupid', as the leader said after the couple attacked a Galbadian tank full of machine-guns and armed soldiers, fled, and led it to their lair, with the result of two females dead and three of the pack's best hunters badly wounded. 

Thirn'hlurf suddenly stopped, and sniffed the air around him raising slightly his cerulean-scaled head, absently licking his jaws with a purple, ophidian tongue. He talked with his grave guttural voice, pointing to the east.

- Human, ahead. Smell. – Skorchklot sniffed too.

- Alone human. – He said.

- Tasty, human. – The other stated with a wicked, full of sharp yellowish teeth grin. They hurried forward, licking again their jaws in anticipation. Their prey came in sight. 

- See. Defenceless human. Sleep. – They grew silent, and continued approaching making as little noise as possible.

- Human, death. – The leader somehow whispered when they were around fifteen metres far. - Eat human.

The Sapphire Dragons slowly moved towards the sleeping man…

A sound, like a very quiet breathing mixed with softened *clacks*, awakened him. It came from a few metres west of him, to his left. Squall did not move, pretending he was asleep, trying to recognize what it was, as he always did in situations like that. It was impossible to identify it from that position, so he decided to move; he rolled away of the sound and stood up all in one fluid movement, completely awakened… two Sapphire Dragons. He had dealt with these creatures a few times before: very tough body, its scales were like an armour; the half-humanoid body proportioned them great stability and freedom of movements, and had very long arms that let them strike while out of reach; a small sized head with a small sized brain, but that had a very large mouth, with very large and numerous teeth. It was strange seeing them in this part of the world, since they used to like the warm forests of Trabia or the southern plains of Esthar, but it was not impossible that a small group had migrated already to the hotter western continent… they loved heat, like their bigger cousins the Ruby Dragons. He noticed that the sun had just begun rising behind him, as he quickly remembered the strengths and the weaknesses of these monsters. In much less than a second, the notion appeared in his mind: weak against ice and cold; fire, thunder and poison have no effect; fire breath attack, poisonous breath attack; easily annoyed, mentally obtuse… and very sharpened claws and fangs, for what he could see. What an awakening…

Seeing their surprise attack failed, the Dragons took a brief instant to examine the half-naked, long-haired human (he was just wearing his comfortable brown travelling trousers, his untied hair falling over his back and shoulders) that stood in front of them before engaging him, running wildly towards him. Squall waited for them to approach, completely still, like paralysed, trying to look very scared to encourage the beasts to underestimate him, a strategy he used to exploit in situations like this - it wasn't, by far, the first time something like this happened. Just when the dragons gave the final leap to grab him and brutally kill what seemed to be an easy prey, Squall reacted, so fast the creatures could not lay a claw on him. He crouched and rolled forward between and under the surprised dragons; when his bare feet touched the ground, he rapidly jumped backwards towards them, and dug his right elbow in a soft spot between scales of the back of the smaller blue dragon, as he raised his other arm and put his hand on the hard, blue skin of the neck of the larger one.

- Freeze. – He softly muttered, focusing almost subconsciously in the ice spell that instantly flowed through his fingers to the beast. Both creatures roared in pain, reacting like acid had touched them, the larger one the most. Squall felt how the smaller one made a superficial scratch in his ankle with its slashing tail, but ignored it; without stopping, using his momentary advantage, Squall took impulse again and, using the smaller one as fulcrum with his right hand, jumped backwards with a spectacular somersault _over_ the monsters, which were at least a metre and eighty centimetres tall, and fell on his feet facing them. Then, he extended his hands before the recovering creatures and concentrated in a more powerful blizzard spell.

- Ice. – He mumbled again. A sudden cold breeze blew his hair out of his face when a ball of pure ice instantly formed in front of him, floating in the abruptly freezing air. It immediately shattered into a myriad of minute, sharp ice fragments, that flew with utmost speed towards the now outraged creatures. The beasts cried with anger in horrible pain as the ice storm virtually burnt their hard, blue scaled skins. Drops of their green poisonous blood dirt the ground beside the train tracks, making a hissing sound. This was more than they could stand; the Dragons, completely mad, run towards him, fire tongues escaping through their vicious mouths. The ice blue eyes of the man narrowed as a half-smile appeared in his lips: he expected this kind of reaction. He easily dodged or jumped out of the way of the extremely strong but uncontrolled blows and occasional spits of acid. 

- Don't force me to kill you, Dragons. Flee, now that you still can. – He said with a neutral tone to the outraged creatures, trying to give them an opportunity as he dodged their attacks. It was evident to the monsters that he wasn't the least bit out of breath; he acted like playing with them. This angered them even more if possible. The smaller one leaped furiously towards Squall, trying to grab him and tear the skin out of the body of the insolent human, as the other inhaled deeply. He noticed this, and rolled to his right easily getting out of the way of the approaching dragon; when his feet made contact with the ground again, he remained just a second there crouched, right leg flexed, left leg stretched out, left hand on the ground to keep balance, right hand on his forehead, in partial concentration…

- Magic shield. – He whispered to himself. Just when the bigger beast released its breath and a torrent of hungry flames went through the air, an intangible magic barrier got in the way of the fire, protecting Squall from the deathly conflagration. The fire breath vanished in the air, consumed by a shield that had _completely_ protected him from harm; he had not even felt the heat. The smaller one had recovered already and run towards Squall, while the other inhaled again… he finally decided, not without shame, to attack. Unexpectedly he jumped forward to the approaching beast and, dodging with ease an awkward falling slash, he passed through the creature's defences and incrusted his fist in the half-humanoid thorax. Knowing that the magical shield would protect him of two or three breath attacks more, he concentrated his efforts in knocking his closest opponent before engaging the bigger one… with a little bit of luck he could make them flee before he had to kill them; they were semi-intelligent, after all. That punch to the abdomen was just the first of a storm of punches, kicks and blows that had such velocity that it was even difficult to see them, let alone blocking or ducking them. Squall knew exactly where to throw his blows to cause real pain, and each one of them was so accurate, so _perfect_, that it was virtually impossible a human could perform them. But this human _was_ performing them; and each punch, or kick, or nudge, or knee blow he dealt burnt like acid to the Dragon's punished skin… like ice had touched it. The beast tried to respond to his constant attacks, but each one of its actions was blocked or used against it, or both. Squall began to feel the heat of the fire breaths from the other one, what told him his shield was weakening. With a final punch with his left fist to its abdomen that concentrated all the strength he could spare, he sent the wrecked but still alive creature rolling a few metres far. He turned to see the stronger Dragon discharge another fire burst, this one bigger than the others. Without hesitation, he threw himself towards the deathly flames. Before they reached him, he extended his hands in front of him still running, palms facing the approaching inferno, thumbs joined, fingers extended, and closed his eyes, focusing…

- What's that, on the bridge? – Quistis asked to the pilot of the assault shuttle, pointing to three little spots that moved on the intercontinental bridge. They had went out of Garden short after the sun first appeared in the horizon, and headed full speed in the light shuttle to a very specific location, as _they_ had told her. The Commander still had her doubts about if the information she had received was trustful, or accurate, since they might have separated… but it appeared that it was true, after all.

- It seems like… three creatures, Commander. – Kristyne replied, who was at the controls. Quistis noticed that two of them were approaching the other, which was completely still.

- Slow down, and approach slowly, just enough to identify their nature. – She said. Gradually, the three forms were more and more clear; after a few seconds it was evident that one of them was a lying human, and the two others were Sapphire Dragons.

- Can he be… - She nervously began.

- I certainly hope not. Those two dragons will kill that poor guy in no time. – She sadly commented, watching the now standing human completely paralysed as the horrid beasts ran towards him. She rubbed her eyes as saying this, tiredness menacing to take over her willpower. She hadn't had any rest for… how much? Twenty five hours? Thirty? She had lost the count. And she hadn't had time even to change her black stealth uniform, only to put a white silk blouse on over the tight black long-sleeve shirt. – Let's carry on looking, there's nothing we- she cut her words instantly as she noticed what the human did, and was doing; her eyes widened, the dizziness leaving her at once. She couldn't believe her eyes at all…

- Ice blast. -He said to himself in a barely audible whisper. Instantly, a pale blue light appeared in each of his fingers that grew and became brighter. Each of the glows threw a faint light thread directly in front of his hands, where the magical energy concentrated, growing larger, colder, shining under the cool air of late dawn… all this happening in milliseconds. Suddenly, the freezing cold ball of energy broke in a incredible ice torrent, that shoot forward from his palms towards the approaching flames. Squall, still running, opened his eyes and saw how the ice flare not only stopped the fire breath, but _engulfed _it and broke through, hitting the surprised beast in its uncovered chest, making it stagger, give some hurried steps back and almost fall backwards. He knew that, if its power wouldn't had been weakened by the flames, the ice bolt would have killed the creature instantly. Without losing time, he continued running towards it, counting with the cover that the smoke the fire and ice collision had produced proportioned him. When he was close enough, he leaped, and extended his leg performing a flying kick that covered five or six metres through the air, caring not to hit where the corrosive blood of the monster was. The Sapphire Dragon only saw a bare foot that suddenly flew out of the smoke and hit his already punished chest. The impact shoved the monster flying backwards, fall and roll until its body was atrociously hurled against the walls of the bridge. Squall fell to the ground after the impact avoiding as he could the puddle of blood almost beneath him, and stood up rapidly. He glanced with shame at the still alive dragons.

- Leave, Dragons! Flee! – He almost shouted with a grave tone. The creatures began to slowly, painfully stand up, and looked at him… but this time there was fear in their dark eyes, real terror; they hurriedly, pathetically forced their damaged and punished muscles to obey them and run as fast as they could away of that human-monster that had wounded them so badly. They didn't know if they would survive already with all those horrible wounds, but nothing would be worse than staying close to him… the beasts, leaning on each other, got away of the human following the train tracks to the west, heading in the same direction from where they had come.

Squall sighed. He was certain that they could not survive with such wounds and would have a horrible, slow and painful death. He watched them go away, and frowned… despite it was very difficult at that distance, he closed his eyes and focused. Soon sweating in concentration, making all the energy he could spare to converge and obey his will, he finally managed to magically heal the creatures enough so they would not die by the wounds he had caused. He sarcastically smiled… it was ironic that he had spent more energy in healing them than in fighting them.

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*Author's note: no, not blue dragons… it's a new variety of dragons that came with the lunar cry, managed to escape and expand beyond the boundaries of Esthar. They are dangerous, slightly more than a Grendel but not as much as the Six eyes, the Blue Dragons or the Ruby ones. They have proliferated enough to be organised in small groups, with their own hierarchy… not very smart, but enough to have basic language abilities.

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**26. The inflection point**

Despite the ambient would be hot later in the day, the morning atmosphere and the sea breeze were cool enough to make him shiver. He crouched beside his sleeping bag to pick up his cotton shirt, which was over his backpack, and put it on, along with his thin-sole leather boots. He took his own-made cape from it too(a greyish-brown skin robe bordered with white fur) and wore it around his shoulders, adjusting the white bone clasp over his chest. Tying his hair in a ponytail, Squall sit on his heels beside his backpack, and searched around in it for the food compartment… he frowned: some almost-rancid dry meat, very few fruit pieces, and an almost-depleted water bottle. He'd have to run if he wanted to reach Esthar continent before those supplies depleted completely, he thought to himself… or take some time and fish, something he wanted to avoid at all costs. He took an apple and packed his things while eating it. Just then he noticed the quiet buzz that had been growing louder as he fought with the creatures. He searched the sky, eyes narrowed with a tentative expression, trying to localise where exactly the noise came from… he then noticed the flying ship that was surprisingly close to him, and that was without a doubt going to land in front on him in a few seconds, on the train tracks. There was nowhere to hide now, he thought glancing around him, annoyed with himself for not noticing it before. Frowning, he stared at the small shuttle, analysing it, subconsciously looking for a very specific thing. There was kind of a faint uncomfortable sensation in the back of his head, like a strange presence, that told him there was no need of confirmation, that he knew exactly what that ship was, and from _where _did it come from. Strangely he felt that he knew it already, but despite it, he went on looking… and what he feared became true. His scowl deepened as he recognised a symbol he had fought to forget long ago, a symbol that had been his very life for twelve years; reflecting the light of the young sun in the sky, it was painted with bright colours on the left side of the shuttle the Balamb Garden symbol. The ship finally landed in front of him, making the characteristic noise of the escaping gas when its four spread supports touched the ground. After a full of expectancy moment, the door slid open.

Behind the door of the ship, Quistis looked at her body, at her clothes, at her appearance. She was a mess, she thought to herself. There hadn't been enough time even to tie her hair properly, so she had it falling in a simple ponytail down her upper back… how could it be possible, that finally she was about to meet with Squall again, after all those years, and she was in the worse of the conditions? extremely tired, hungry, really pissed about her situation, and a completely ruined aspect. She resigned herself, sighing as the door opened. The Commander saw him, standing in front of the shuttle, dressed with some simple travelling clothes, and with a suspicious, annoyed and slightly sad expression on his face. She stepped out of the transport and tried to smile; a nervous, awkward smile appeared in her lips. She had thought all kind of words to say when this happened; words of friendship, of sadness, of bitter resentfulness or of joy, and had longed to say them so much in all those years… but the only words that went out of her mouth were:

- Want a trip?

A woman, who appeared to be somewhere around the thirties, stepped out of it. She was dressed in black and white, with a loose ashen blouse and dark, skin-tight trousers. The woman, with a hand on her hips and the other on the frame of the door, stared at him with her azure eyes, her golden hair falling down her back in a ponytail. A charming, confident smile appeared in her lips, as she slightly tipped her head to a side. She was extremely familiar to Squall's eyes, he knew he had met this woman before, but the memory refused to emerge... until she spoke, with a unmistakable soft voice that made the memory roughly explode inside his mind: Quistis Trepe, a woman that had been his play mate when he was a child, his instructor when older, and his subordinate as a SeeD.

- Want a trip? – She said. He stayed there, looking at her with a unfathomable expression in his face. "And does that really matter?" He thought. Still, he _had _to try to escape from that situation… despite he knew already it was unavoidable.

- Stay out of my way. – He snapped, beginning to walk again. 

- Wait! I must tell you why I'm here… - She gave a step forward, and Squall interrupted her.

- I have to go to Esthar. _Stay out of my way._ – He repeated, in a much more harsh tone. "Esthar?" Quistis thought… "Why has he to go there? Might he know what is happening?" She asked to herself. Following the feeling she suddenly had, she asked him, with a suspicious look in her face as Squall passed beside her: 

- Why have you to go to Esthar? – Squall continued walking a while.

- That is nothing of your business.

- Squall… - Quistis pursed her lips, and gave a few steps towards him, with the intention of following him until he told her if it was necessary. She was beginning to be annoyed by his attitude; she had not been fighting to convince Rinoa, and looking for him later for nothing. The man suddenly stopped. Squall realised that she would not leave him _in peace_ until he told her… besides, she surely could clarify many things. With a deep, resigned sigh, he spoke, still with his back turned on her.

- GER-47 P. I must find it in Esthar. – The commander's eyes opened wide.

- So you already know what is going on? How, and when!?

- I only know that I must find it, and then I will know what to do. – He said, in a display of sincerity. He hesitated before uttering his next phrase, but finally pronounced it. – Ellone told me to… - Now Quistis was confused.

- But, how did she… - Suddenly, realisation came into her mind. Ellone was kind of a telepath… with some effort, she could transport her mind to where Squall was and communicate with him, as she had done in the past. The woman wondered if he knew Ellone had died…

- Can I continue my journey now, Instructor? – Came his bitter, annoyed voice. Quistis decided to bluntly tell him the truth, hoping that would make him react.

- Squall, Ellone is dead. - At this, the man turned, with an expression in his face that said nothing about his feelings; still, his eyes invited her to go on. – She was murdered yesterday. Laguna was killed, too. – He narrowed his eyes and turned to face her. So this was what Ellone was talking about… _"Maybe it's too late for me…"._ He didn't know how to take it… a mixture of emotions was growing inside him, so diverse and contradictory, so mixed with each other that he couldn't distinguish them. He had to take a decision now, and let the auto-analysis of his feelings for later. Quistis had been walking towards him, speaking words that were not necessary any more. 

- Look, Squall, come with me to Garden, and I'll explain everything to you… there are a lot of things that you must know, and that are not very easy to understand. You… you can be of great help for us… you can be the man that will set the difference between victory and defeat… we need you, the world needs you Squall, please come with me.

He wasn't listening to her, lost in his thoughts. There was no reason for going to Esthar now; the answers to his questions were not there any more: they stood in front of him instead. He only had to raise his hand, and grab them… but what he feared was that, if he extended his arm to take the answers, what was behind them would take his member and drag him towards it, trapping him in a its invisible cage… again. Garden… it was the last place he would like to go, and the place where apparently he was obliged to go, if he wanted to _know_… and survive, if what Ellone had said was true. He weighed his options, and came to the conclusion that there were no options at all. _"A simple man sets the difference…"_ The phrase echoed inside his head, not knowing if it had been Quistis who had pronounced it, or if it was the sudden memory of some dead words... _"We need you, the world needs you…" _Their voices, Quistis' and Ellone's, joined inside his head, performing a chant that resounded in his brain… "And what about what _I_ need" He resentfully thought. Sighing, Squall took his decision. "I will help you… but this time, it won't be to save you, or SeeD, the world, or the universe. This time, I will help you to save _me_." The man spoke.

- I will go with you.

**27. The proposal**

Quistis Trepe had been filling Squall in generally about the situation they had in hands during the trip back to the flying Balamb Garden, that was now somewhere between Balamb and the continent of Galbadia, in it's way to Deling; what had been SeeD and Gardens doing, the sudden attack to Trabia Garden (without mentioning Selphie's death), their expedition to the base, the interrogation and the new race of monsters, and finally the imminent war between nations… he had said nothing, absolutely nothing; he didn't seem to attend to her words, even… Kristyne wasn't paying much attention to it though. She had two incredibly contradictory emotions inside her: one was excitement, even delight. She had been told only an hour ago some things that deeply impacted her: first, that Squall Leonhart, the legendary saviour of time and space itself, was not dead as *almost* everyone in Kholos _knew_; second, that they needed him and were going to search for him, because they knew his exact location; and third, the most important, that it was going to be _her_, Danielle Kristyne Lynn Tearless, level twenty-one SeeD, and not any other, who would pilot the ship that would find him and bring him back. Considering all this, it was understandable that she was pretty much excited, having not less than a hero only a metre and a half far from her. But there was other emotion, that had been rising inside her when she had been told that he was not really dead: this one she didn't know how to call it, if hatred, despise or anger… maybe a bit of each. The reason to those feelings was Rinoa. Now, she had finally figured out why Rinoa hated him so much. She had never really understood the reason for her anger against him: he was dead, and gave his life for the Life of others after all. He had abandoned her, causing her unspeakable pain, yes, but for saving everything that existed! Was it that bad?, She had thought to herself. But now, she knew perfectly what this man did to her in the past. She knew of the Sorceress' torment both for the woman's words (Kristyne was one of the two only persons Rinoa had talked about her suffering, and about everything involving Squall in her life; what she had experienced and had felt, had been feeling, and felt now, the other person being Quistis) and for seeing it by herself: she first met Rinoa in person when the Sorceress was convalescent in bed… she had been all the time beside her, even sleeping in a chair beside her bed, never leaving her side for nothing; she had been there, trying to feed her when she refused to eat, half awake half asleep; holding her hand and speaking soft, reassuring words to her when nightmares seized her dreams; speaking to her and calming the woman in her trances of semi-conscience, even when magic sparks or any other energies flowed in conflict inside and outside her tortured body, not caring if she got hurt. All this made her decide to say nothing, not even looking to him, concentrating in her duty as she was supposed to. Instead, she listened… 

Squall had said nothing, absolutely nothing; he didn't seem to attend to Quistis' words, even. But he was listening… he was trying to absorb all the important information she was giving him, and figure out why they needed him so badly, which was his role in that enormous gear that he was beginning to understand. Obviously, he didn't know that he was a world-wide-known hero, that his sudden apparition would cause a deep impact in the minds of all the population of the world, that he was going to be presented as the last hope of the 'alliance'… those were things he couldn't even dare to imagine. She finally finished with a sigh and a "and that is all" what appeared to be a fairytale. "Can the world have changed so much in all this time?" he wondered to himself. "No. The thing is that it has not changed at all. All the ambition, the tensions between nations, the crazy scientists, the suffering, fear and hatred of the people, all existed then… long ago, I fled from all those things, and what do I find when I come back? That it is even worse than before." 

- How did you find me. – He asked in a neutral tone. The woman sitting in front of him smiled.

- You might now that we have in our power all the Guardian Forces in this planet, Squall… except one. A proof of how desperately we need your help, is the way I obtained the location of Shiva, and consequently yours… we hoped you hadn't de-junctioned her. I've studied the GFs for many years, and know many more things about them than any other human… and I knew of a way of communicating with them, despite it was dangerous. I junctioned all the GFs to me, Squall, something I will never do again for it would destroy my mind. In my conscience, we had kind of a… meeting, a conference… I don't know why, they didn't request anything in favour for spotting with exactitude where Shiva was. But the important thing is that they told me. – She ended with a proud smile. But the man didn't manifest admiration, but only scorn and disdain.

- You know _nothing_ about Guardian Forces, Instructor. Absolutely nothing.- He harshly said. - What do you want of me. – He requested with ice in both his eyes and voice. – Why am I so important.

- Well, if you haven't guessed already… I want you to… be… - Quistis realised then that she didn't know what she wanted Squall to be. She didn't want him to be the leader of the SeeDs, because she and Rinoa would be in command, at least unofficially. But there was nothing the SeeDs would love more than being under his orders, and nothing the Estharians would fear more than the opposing leader would be Squall Leonhart. Besides, Squall would not agree to being the leader, at least not without several persuasion… and, he would _never _be a tool in anyone's hands. She decided to be completely sincere to him, despite she knew he wouldn't like what she was about to say. – We need you to be the inspiration of our troops, the icon and hero that they can use for support when their will weakens; the figure who our troops will admire and our enemy will fear.

His first reaction was of surprise. Then, a sceptical expression appeared in his face. "A hero? An icon?", were the words that echoed inside his head. He asked, raising an eyebrow.

- What do you mean by 'a hero'? A hero for whom? You can't create a hero from nowhere, Instructor. I'm unknown to the world, and surely SeeD has forgotten me, buried my name in oblivion, or completely rejected me since I am the first and only ex-SeeD ever. – He refused to use her name; he wanted to treat her, and them all, like perfect strangers, so a friendship that not even he was certain that once existed would not reborn. Quistis couldn't believe what he had just said.

- Where the hell have you been all these years, Squall? What have you been doing that you don't even know… – She asked, and she instantly read the answer in his cold, pale cerulean eyes, eyes that talked about all he had seen and experienced, all what he had _lived,_ that had absolutely nothing to do with humanity; eyes that were completely different from the ones the woman had known, not in the colour, or the texture, but… the glint in them. There was… _power _inside those wild, untamed eyes. It came instantly into her mind… he simply _hadn't been_ in the world… at least, not in the 'humanized' one; there were lots of places where mankind hadn't put its hand, and many others which humans didn't know that existed at all. That would explain the fact that they hadn't heard not even the most little of rumours about him in all that time. She began to tell him what he was to the eyes of the world. – Look, Squall, the truth is something completely different to what you have in mind. The fact is that you are… you are a legend, you are the greatest hero of all time for the world, and especially for SeeDs. – the man couldn't help a puzzled and sceptical expression. 

- But I left them, I _deserted from SeeD_, something that could be called high treachery if I remember Garden laws. I abandoned everything, completely everything, without honour, without even a simple 'farewell'… and still people remember me as a hero? Then the world is more stupid than I thought. – Quistis sighed.

- Yes… that is the truth… for you. But that's not what the world knows, Squall. That's not what _I_ said to them. – "This is being more difficult than I thought," the woman said to herself. - You… you officially died in December the seventeen, year 7419 p.H.: a day before you truly… 'left us'. You died, or better, you were lost in time dealing the final blow to our enemy, Ultimecia, in the terrible explosion that occurred right after her death. You sacrificed your life for all the other lives in the universe. – She made a little pause. – That, is the reason for what the entire world considers you a hero. And that's why I want you to join us, because without you, we are _literally _hopeless. – Silence. Squall frowned: now, he was able to understand everything. He understood why he was there, and why Quistis had created such a story around him… it was much more lucrative for SeeD to have a legend than having what would have been considered a coward pariah. It was so ironic that he *almost* smiled… he, who had never wanted to be a hero, a leader, who had left Garden and his entire life behind to escape from that supposed leadership that was nothing more than slavery for him, who had walked all around the wild world trying to forget humanity and hoping it would forget him too… was considered the "almighty warrior from heavens", a legend, an icon of absolute goodness that the people of Kholos admired. And now he was in his way to a place where he would have to accept his past, confront his present and embrace a future he wanted to avoid at all costs. But it was useless to fight against it. It seemed that he had no option: cooperate, or die. 

- I won't receive orders again, nor I will give them. – He simply said. – I accept what you offer me, but have this in mind: I'm not one of your subordinates, or one of your officials, or a tool you can handle for your own desires, or anything that has something to do with you or SeeD. Always remember that we only follow the same path… for now. 

- I'll keep that in mind. – She said with a radiant smile. This was all she wanted to hear, she hadn't expected to get anything more from him. She continued then telling the man about what Gardens did and had been doing, basically chatting about all that had happened, while all Squall did was listen. Strangely, she did not mention at any time something about his "old friends". He wondered why, but he was not going to be the one who asked. He didn't really care, after all. 

When she finished, and an uncomfortable silence fell over them, Quistis finally decided to ask about something that had been in the back of her mind since she first saw him in the train tracks, fighting… despite she almost knew without doubt she would not obtain a satisfactory answer.

- Squall… we were able to see you fighting against those sapphire dragons… - At his indifferent glance, she continued. – How the hell did you perform those extremely powerful spells? I had never seen that before, in a human at least. – "Not even from Rinoa," she added to herself; the Sorceress magic had a completely different style… her magic was all smooth, subtle but powerful, and despite she could perform extremely powerful elemental spells, just like the man had done or higher in power, her "way" of performing them was much more studied, practiced, refined… she didn't know how to put it… they were "elegant spells". But the spells she had seen there in the bridge spoke wildness, all born of necessity, like even improvised. Squall didn't look at her as he uttered an answer.

- I've done things and been in places your mind can't even imagine. I've grown, and the spirit within too… It's not important _for you _how I do what I can do. The important thing is that I'm able to do it. – Silence again. 

Quistis pursed her lips, sighing. Well, at least it was an answer…

**28. "Old Friends"**

The shuttle that had left around an hour ago, with the commander herself and a SeeD as pilot, was finally approaching the flying Balamb Garden. Everyone inside it was wondering why had their leader left so suddenly, without apparent reason; not even the most close SeeDs to the woman knew where had she gone. The Sorceress Heartilly, the only exception to this apart of Xu Fai-Tveh, saw the ship coming closer through the crystal dome of the bridge, where she had gone after changing her black clothes to something more appropriate: a long ochre dress, of the colour of dry leaves in autumn, fastened to her waist with a black belt, with a long skirt that fell down to her ankles, and that went gradually darkening from top to bottom, where it was dark brown. She narrowed her eyes. Despite she didn't think the inhabitants of the garden would go to the hangar to see how the commander arrived, she already had given orders that no one, not even the usual personnel of the sector, should be there when the Shuttle landed, with the only exception of the SeeDs Zell Dincht, Irvine Kinneas and Seifer Almasy… "the 'old gang', reunited again… almost", Rinoa bitterly, sadly thought, as she stood up and walked to the elevator. "All has changed… it has changed so much I almost can't imagine how it was before" Before… years ago, when she was a seventeen year old child, all was so simple… all was happiness, all was joy, with her friends around… she began to recall a rush of images from the past in her mind;Irvine flirting with Selphie in the train… Quistis trying to show Zell how to use her whip, in one of those long journeys in the Ragnarok… Seifer caressing her hair in a hot summer afternoon… Zell teaching her how to play Triple Triad… the tender embrace from someone he had once loved……… love… something she had not felt for too many years. Sadness was beginning to take control of her mind. It was in times like this when she needed the presence of Selphie Tilmitt. She always knew how to cheer up others, the more depressed one was, the more she put her efforts in making that one smile. "Selphie..." She thought as she walked more and more slowly through the corridor that lead to the hangar. She missed her happiness so much… but now all was different. Selphie was dead, Irvine was lost, she hated Seifer and her love had left her, forever, no matter if the body that once carried it was about to return, only leaving behind an empty hole that had been filled through years with hatred and scorn. She moved away from the wall where she had unconsciously leaned, and began walking again, her skirt flapping around her ankles, somehow her determination invigorated by her thoughts. Only life remained; not her life, for she suddenly felt like even that had been torn apart from her: it was the life of others, of all others in the world. And she had decided, she had sworn to herself to safeguard it, at all costs. She firmly walked down the corridor, to join the others and meet what they needed to survive.

The shuttle finally landed, and only four figures were standing in front of it, all of them with solemn, thoughtful expressions in their faces. Only one of them knew what or who they were about to see. The door of the ship slid open, and some little steps appeared to help the passengers; Kristyne went out of it first, followed by the Commander Quistis Trepe. She glanced back at the door, like making a signal to a third passenger. As Quistis threw a glance full of expectancy and not empty of pride, the unknown person went out of the ship: everyone, even Rinoa slightly, gasped when they saw him. It was a man, aged around the thirties, and around the metre seventy… his body was covered with old used clothes, it was evident he had travelled a lot with them. His fibrous, stylised muscles were noticeable under the clothes, his slightly tanned skin shining under the hangar lights. He had his elbow-length brown hair tied at the nape of his neck, a large ponytail falling down his back. His eyes were of a pale blue, almost grey, and intensely analysed his surroundings, and those who received him. Between those eyes there was a faint scar, what remained of an old wound, that went across his forehead to beneath his left eye from right to left… Quistis finally introduced him to them, pointlessly because they had recognized him at once:

- This, my friends, is Squall Leonhart.

Zell was the first in doing something: he began to run towards Squall and, not caring if he would like it or not, he embraced him with all his strength, talking with emotion in his voice and a tear in his eye.

- Old friend… finally you've come back, after all these years…

- Release me. – The man said, completely surprised by his reaction and a little out of breath for his grip. Zell ignored his words… like in the old times.

- Oh, I knew you'd return, they didn't believe me but…

- _Release me. Now._ – There was something in Squall's tone that made the SeeD let loose of his embrace. He looked at his eyes and saw growing anger in them…

- Geez, you haven't changed a bit, did ya know that? – He casually said, smiling at his long lost friend. – You look completely different, but your temperament is the same! – Squall deeply frowned, and stared at him looking extremely menacingly.

- _Get away from me. Don't dare to touch me again._ – The man harshly stated.

- Wow, yo'r even worse! – He said giving a step back. As he said this, Irvine gave one of his snorts, looked at Squall from head to feet and turned away to leave, without saying a word, heading to a place where he could be alone.

Seifer had many things to think over now. The question _"Wasn't he dead!?"_ echoed inside his head. Now that he had been able to become a SeeD and get a reputation, being one of the best combat / technician SeeDs in all Gardens, now that he had been able even to forget _him_, and the problems he had had with him, he came back into his life to de-stabilize everything. He had always been jealous of him, because Squall had always obtained, without wanting it, what he had fought so hard in the past to get and still hadn't reached at all: fame, glory, and wealth… he even became a knight without wanting it. Even in what should have been his death Seifer had felt furious, because Squall had become a hero for the entire world, he had died with honour, with pride, in the battlefield _saving the world_… it was the death Seifer had always dreamt of. But he had forgiven Squall's non-intentioned offences, and forgotten him as a rival to hate; he was dead, after all. And now… he reappeared. He stared at the commander, and uttered his question just when Irvine turned to leave. 

- What the hell is he doing here, Quistis.

- I could ask exactly the same, Almasy. – Squall said, a little curious, he had to admit. The last time he had seen Seifer was fighting in the Lunatic Pandora, and fighting against him and his companions. 

- Seifer is a SeeD now, Squall. – The commander intervened; the SeeD ignored her.

- You are _dead_, Leonhart! Everyone knows it!

- Then I guess I must be dead, if everyone says so. – He bitterly replied. Quistis cut them both before this led to a fight, speaking with all the authority that her rank and her years of experience had provided her. 

- Seifer, I'm sorry that we never told you, but it was a secret only known by very few people, and not because they had been told, only that they saw it with their own eyes and it was inevitable for them to know. We agreed to keep what really happened hidden to the public… until now. Seifer, he wasn't lost in time, and wasn't killed by Ultimecia… he came back safe, but left us the following night… fleeing from his duty leaving all behind him. We couldn't let that come to light, as you surely can understand. – Seifer narrowed his eyes. He felt insulted by the lack of trust in him: he didn't see the Commander's standpoint, only that they considered him not good enough to know something so important for him… with a offended grunt, he left the same way Irvine had done, heading to a place he could assimilate so much new information, and let further questions for later… his thoughts rushed as he walked down the corridors: Squall Leonhart hadn't been dead all those years! If he had known it, nothing would have stopped him from searching and finding him, and then he… The SeeD's train of thinking suddenly stopped: yes, he would have found him, exactly what his superior wanted to prevent… his mind now finally saw everything that Quistis had pretended with keeping the secret. And in understanding all that had happened, he felt like a heavy weight had been removed from his back: he had lived all these years under the shadow of Squall Leonhart, the Legend, who had obtained with ease everything Seifer had wanted… and now he felt _his_ shadow finally leaving him, letting him see the light, at last… because, finally, he _felt_ better than him.

Squall saw with indifference both men leaving, first Irvine next Seifer. Zell was a few metres far at his left, shaking his head with a sad and disappointed look. Only a woman remained, a woman that looked extremely familiar, but he felt unable to recognize despite his efforts. She had very long hair, longer than his, and fell over her back in a black as night cascade; her features were those of a mature woman, around her thirties, and particularly beautiful, he had to admit, with that pale perfect skin, a face that could be said it had been sculpted by the most expert of the sculptors, and such a gorgeous frame, covered with a long dress of ochre tones. And her eyes, those dark brown eyes whose gaze could turn flesh into stone, eyes that suddenly shone with golden sparks, only for an instant… but there was something more about her that he could perceive. He could see a kind of… 'Aura' around her, a glowing both black and white in one glimmering that extended beyond her body, to everything that surrounded her. This woman radiated pure energy, she radiated _power_. With this, he realized who she was. The only person that could emanate such a thing was a Sorceress. She was the only Sorceress that could exist in the world, a extremely powerful Sorceress as he was seeing now. He had fought so hard to forget her that he hadn't been able to recognize her at first sight, but now he remembered everything of her. Everything…

- Rinoa. – He dryly stated. His expression hadn't changed the most little bit as he thought all those things. She didn't reply. Instead, what had been some little sparks in her eyes grew until her eyes shone completely with a bright orange / yellow light, as blue veins covered parts of her anatomy and her hair grew, moving suddenly with a came-from-nowhere breeze. Her glowing black and white aura grew incredibly in Squall's eyes… and all stopped all of sudden. With a completely annoyed, suspicious and frustrated at the same time look, she turned and walked away of the place. Squall remained there, with his eyebrows raised, with a slight presumption about what just had happened. He sardonically half-smiled.

Before she disappeared in the corridor, her voice echoed inside the Commander's head: _"Quistis, I _must_ talk to you. _Now_. I'll be in your office."_ Were her telepathic words. She pursed her lips; it seemed important… What an incredibly pleasant gathering. "Oh well, I couldn't expect something much better than this, anyway…" She sadly thought.

- Zell, escort Squall to _the_ guest dormitory, with absolute discretion. I doubt someone would recognize him but it's better not to assume any risk. – She turned to Squall. – Please forgive us and be understanding… don't worry, this secrecy won't last much. Zell will provide you with anything you want. 

- Sure! – the SeeD said. Squall simply shrugged slightly, manifesting his lack of interest on the matter. After this, the woman walked out of the hangar heading to her office…

**29. Pride and Power**

Quistis opened her office's door, and looked inside to see a thoughtful Rinoa walking up and down the vast room, who stopped and turned to face her as she entered. As the blonde woman walked towards her chair, she began to talk, patently disappointed with the Sorceress.

- Rinoa, I think you told me you would be able to control yourself; why did you do that? You shouldn't… - Her sentence was cut by the Sorceress.

- Please take seat. – She said, with a very serious look, worried and upset at a time. The Commander did as she had been told, and waited for her explanation. – Look, I know what I said. And I assure you I would have been able to keep control, even 'behave nicely', if I hadn't sensed what I did… or better I didn't sense in _him_. – Now Quistis annoyed expression changed to an interested one.

- Explain yourself. – Rinoa put her hands on the desk.

- As soon as you arrived and he showed up, I tried to read his mind, as I had told you I would do no matter what you thought. And do you want to know what I saw? – Came her rhetorical question. – I'll tell you: nothing. Absolutely nothing, it was as like a wall was between his mind and mine. – The Commander raised an eyebrow. "How can that be possible?" she thought. – That's where I wanted to go, Quistis, because it _scares_ me. I _don't know_ why I couldn't penetrate his thoughts, as I've just done with you. I tried, I tried with all my willpower to break through, but it was useless! – The woman almost shouted, out of frustration and uncertainty. Quistis sat back, thoughtful.

- Hmmm… couldn't you read his thoughts before? When you received your powers and he was still around?

- You know that at that time I couldn't make use of them properly, the sensation of the energy flowing inside me was so overwhelming… sometimes I heard things, whispers, words without sense inside my brain, but that was all, I never knew where did they come from. At that time, I only could use my Sorceress Powers through Angelwings, someone that, despite I was still me, I couldn't control at all… and "she" banished many years ago. So, I can't know if I could read his mind then. But the fact is that I can't _now._ This had never happened to me before, Quistis. Anywhere I wanted to go, I went. But his mind is an impenetrable fortress where I'm not allowed to enter… consciously, or subconsciously: he might not know what is happening, something that would tranquillise me a bit… - Quistis gave a derisive smile to her.

- Oh, I'm sure he knows. You didn't see him in action, Rinoa. He did things… they were indescribable. And what he said told me that he knows with exactitude his limits and capabilities. – The Sorceress narrowed her eyes.

- What? What did he do, and say?

- Look for yourself, my friend. It's the only way to be objective. – The blonde woman said as she slightly bowed her head forward. A little reluctant at first, wary of what she might see, Rinoa extended her right arm, until her spread fingers barely caressed Quistis' forehead. She closed her eyes, and concentrated to receive the scene Quistis' eyes had received… as her extended member emanated a warm, purple glow, the thoughts and pictures suddenly rushed from the Commander's memory to the Sorceress' mind, a shiver running up Quistis' spine as they did. Rinoa opened her golden eyes, that went back to normal in a few seconds, and made a grimace, looking away.

- I know what you mean… - She said looking at her again.

- His exact words were "I've done things and been in places your mind can't even imagine. I've grown, and the spirit within too… It's not important for youhow I do what I can do. The important thing is that I'm able to do it."

- "…what I can do. The important thing is that I'm able to do it." – Rinoa ended the phrase with her, in chorus. "What a pompous arrogant bastard he's become." She bitterly thought. But there was something in that sentence that made the Sorceress think. After a while, she uttered her doubts. – "The spirit within"? What's that? His soul or something?

- I guess he talked about Shiva, his GF.

- Of course, the Guardian Force… - She remained pensive after that. Quistis continued exposing her thoughts.

- But GF Shiva is a lesser GF… It's the weakest of them all, and its powers were completely developed when we fought against Ultimecia. I know Shiva couldn't 'grow' more when he left, that's why I didn't really care when he carried it with him.

- Maybe… - Rinoa muttered, looking at nowhere in particular, deep immerse in her meditations. She raised her head. – Well, as I've told you I sensed power, pure energy flowing from and around him, Quistis… and no matter the source of it, I can say that power is great… never seen before in a human indeed. – The Commander raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

- Are you telling me that it's so great that it is comparable to yours? – The Sorceress' eyes glowed gold, even with some little sparks, as anger and indignation filled her voice. The instant transformation was incredible, even scary if Quistis wouldn't have been used to it.

- _Never. That is impossible. His power will never be comparable to that of three Sorceresses concentrated in one!_ – She went back to normal, forcing herself to calm down… talking about _him_ was putting her on the nerves. – S… Sorry Quistis, please forgive my outburst… I don't know what happened to me… I'm just tired and am not able to think clearly, that is all… - The blonde woman smiled warmly to her, her tired eyes giving Rinoa a understanding gaze.

- We all need to sleep, Rinoa, we have been awake and doing all sort of things without rest for more than thirty hours… and despite we have no time to lose, we are useless if we are exhausted. We will arrive to Deling in four hours, so we have three hours starting now to get some rest. Please, go sleep a little, will you? Don't be around and leave all your worries aside, at least for a while. – the Sorceress sighed.

- Okay, you are right… I need rest. See you in three hours, but not more. – She turned to leave, but when she was almost gone she seemed to remember something. – Oh, by the way Quistis I told Xu not to reply to Esthar, because it would be useless, as you said. – The Commander silently nodded. With that, the Sorceress left the room, walking. Quistis smiled again.

Rinoa had left, and Quistis was sitting in her comfortable chair, in the office. She thought of all they had over their heads, and sighed. Despite all the worries she had in her mind, the only thing that really preoccupied her now was sleep… wonderful sleep. She found that she was so exhausted that she barely couldn't move from her seat… so she decided to recline her chair and simply close the eyes. Yes, she would sleep, and then she would prepare the hero to reborn… she almost immediately fell asleep, the last image impressed in her brain being a glowing blue gunblade…

End of chapter six.

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	8. Part I Chapter seven: Betrayed Oaths. Th...

Warrior Soul

**Warrior Soul**

_Part I: Chosen one_

**_ _**

**_By Tanthalas Fierolobo_**

_"You will always be our leader."_

__- Inscription beneath Squall Leonhart's statue, Balamb Garden.__

_ _

_ _

**_CHAPTER SEVEN: Betrayed oaths. The Rebirth. Forced Alliances._**

**30. Shadows will follow**

** **

Rinoa was really scared. Someone, or _something was following her, but she couldn't see what, only able to hear its deep breathing. She was walking through the streets of Deling by night, her heels knocking loudly in the silent darkness of the deserted city. The breathing was approaching, and she fastened the pace. Suddenly she heard a long, horrible howl beside her, and, in complete panic, began to run as fast as she could, trying to escape from the beast that persecuted her. She turned the fatidic corner, but this time there was no dark form to bump into. Instead, there was a enormous precipice, an endless pit so dark in the bottom that it was even difficult to look at the darkness. And, on the other side of the abyss, the shadow, that spoke with a voice she had once known so well, she had once loved so much… __"Don't be afraid, Rinoa." The shadow somehow, despite the distance, whispered in her ear. __"I'm here, you can reach me if you trust me". His voice was like a healing elixir to her scared heart; she only wanted to be with him, hold him and be held by him, experience that feeling of safeness that had left her so long ago… the dark form extended his arm, and a wooden bridge, tied with ropes to some posts, appeared between them crossing the terrifying precipice. Without thinking anymore, feeling that the approaching beast was almost behind her, she began to run towards the shadow, and then she would embrace it, and then nothing would matter anymore… When she was at the middle of the bridge, the dark form suddenly pulled out a sword made of darkness and, without any contemplations, without any word, severed the ropes that sustained the wooden passage. Rinoa's eyes opened wide, as tears of desperation and fear flooded her eyes and filled her cheeks. _"No! Why!? No!!"_ She cried as she felt herself losing balance, and falling, falling, endlessly falling… but the falling came to an end. She hit the bottom with a "*thump*" like a tossed rock, and pain invaded her senses… but she was still alive to feel something was around her… and then the beast that had been persecuting her appeared before her now covered with blood eyes. Panic overwhelmed her body as the demon raised one of its claws. __"No! Please don't!" she cried out in terror as it, ignoring her pleads, brought its claw down. __"No…" Suddenly all went black. The pain was insufferable as the claws and fangs of the creature tore skin, flesh and bone, in a endless symphony of agony that would never stop…_

*beep* … *beep* … *beep* … *beep* …

The beeping sound of the alarm clock suddenly dragged Rinoa from the horrible nightmare. She immediately opened her dark brown eyes, that flung myriads of little golden sparks, and sat in shock, breathing rapidly, heavily, all her body covered in sweat… like she had done before. This time she realised what had happened sooner.

- Shit… - The curse escaped between her lips, as she put a hand on her forehead and lay again on her comfortable bed. She still could feel the torture, in her mind and in her body equally… this was beginning to worry her a lot. – I must do something with this… it's driving me mad... – She muttered to the empty air, with a grimace in her face as she revived in her head the dreadful visions. She remembered why the alarm clock had awakened her and stood up, throwing out of her conscience those things that didn't let her think clearly. She always slept completely naked, so she had not to take anything off as she headed to the bathroom to have a shower, to clean her body of that horrid sweat that made her feel so uncomfortable, relax and free her mind from sinister thoughts. When she was inside the tub, hot water wetting her gorgeous frame as she carefully washed her long, dark hair, she heard how someone knocked at the door.

- Rinoa! Are you there? It's time to get up, I'm coming in! – A voice came from outside. The Sorceress recognised Kristyne's voice, and smiled. Despite she didn't want to admit she was happy for having a close, trustful friend at her side in that moment. Rinoa spoke loud so she would hear her. 

- Come in, I'm having a shower!

- Okay! – Kristyne replied, who had already stepped in the room. She glanced around, analysing the room as she always did. Contrary to public opinion, which believed that a Sorceress' room would be the personification of sumptuousness and glamour, Rinoa had a very Spartan decoration, without any expensive furniture or ostentatious useless pictures in the wall, sacrificing looks for pragmatism. She had chosen as a place to live one of the guests rooms, the smallest one (and still she had a lot of space), and reorganised it to fit her necessities; indeed, she almost only had there what was necessary for her, and not more. Her dependencies consisted in a big main room that held all what she needed to live and a not less large bathroom. The main room, with a floor covered with an amethyst fitted carpet that silenced her steps, had her bed in the east side of the room, which was simple but extremely comfortable, and a night table beside it; a big wardrobe at a side of the bed on the south wall, where all her outfits were held, along with her now old, covered-in-dust Blaster Edge, and the collar of her long dead pet Angelo, that had died around eight years ago; a large, full body mirror attached to the north wall, and close to it a little table to put her things; all the west wall was covered with a huge bookcase filled with all sorts of books that went from encyclopaedias to novels and philosophic texts from the most famous writers, her Diary, and many other things. It also held her Book of Sorcery, written in the Arcane language by Rinoa herself, that contained all the annotations and lessons about Sorceress' Magic she had received or created by her own through the years; a very restful chair in the middle of the room where she sat to read, or think; and finally a large desk where she wrote, to the left of the mirror. The space left in the north wall had an enormous windowpane, that filled the room with light during the day, and was big enough to let her see the moon and the stars from the bed at night. Everything was of dark red, brown or mauve tones, making the room look warm, and cosy. Kristyne always felt that she entered in her parents' home when she went to her room; it was almost identical to their living room, saving the bed. It made her feel… 'at home', for some minutes at least. She spoke to her, talking loudly so she would hear. – I just came to tell something to you… it will only take a minute.

She heard the water of the shower stopping, and the soft noise of the woman going out of the tub.

- Very well then. – She calmly said, opening the bathroom door, only a brown towel covering her, her wet, messy hair falling over her shoulders and down her back, little drops of water raining over the carpeted floor. – Just a minute. – She said, as she raised her arms and let the towel fall, not caring if her body was being watched. She recited some words as her eyes glowed with its characteristic golden tones, and a warm breeze embraced her, the magic zephyr slowly drying her hair and body. Kristyne said nothing and patiently waited for her to finish; she had seen her naked countless times (like when she had to clean her when she was passing her horrible illness in bed twelve years ago, or in the intense meditation rituals they had once a year*) and this time it wasn't going to be different. When the Sorceress was completely dry, she walked towards her wardrobe. – What's in your mind, Danielle. – She casually asked as she opened one of the large doors of the wooden closet. She felt in a much better mood now that she was clean, physically and mentally, and Kristyne's presence there just contributed to keep that good mood. Noticing as always that the Sorceress had called her by her first name, something no one did except her and her now dead parents, she leaned on the wall and proceeded to say what had led her there, as she watched how Rinoa chose her attire. This was one of those times where the Sorceress behaved like a woman, and not like a powerful and responsible entity out of the understanding of mere mortals.

- I only wanted to tell you that… I've been thinking a lot… and… well… - She didn't know how to say it. It was difficult approaching to her.

- What is it, Danielle, come on, spit it. – Rinoa said as she took a vaporous white dress, went in front of the mirror and put it over her body to see how it fitted. Kristyne sighed and told herself that the sooner she got it out of her mind the better she would feel afterwards.

- It's that I finally understand your… feelings towards the figure of Squall Leonhart, Rinoa, and that I certainly sympathise with you… but despite now I know all the truth, I find myself unable to hate him in the way you do… I know what he did, and the suffering you had to stand and all… but he… he is someone whose spirit I've admired, and always wanted to become something like him… but I also wanted to say that I'll always stand at your side, Rinoa… and I mean _always_, no matter what might happen…

The sorceress stopped looking at her projected image on the mirror and looked directly to her, not annoyed or disgusted or disappointed, but with a smile in her lips.

- Did you really think that I'd like you to abhorrence him the way I do? Everyone has dreams and heroes, Child, and I'm not going to spoil you from yours! Think whatever you want and feel the way you want towards others, Danielle; the only thing that I will do is advice or counsel you, but not more. You are completely free to do what you want. – At that moment the SeeD was feeling a great relief.

- I only thought that you might be… disappointed with me… - She warily stated.

- Oh, there's no way I can feel that, Danielle my friend. You have proven to be trustful and judicious in many times. – "How adorable…" the Sorceress thought, as like what Kristyne had said were the words of her daughter apologizing for something without importance. Still, what she had last said made her think. – But… mmm… what did you mean with "no matter what might happen"? – She said, asking a question whose answer she already knew.

- You know what I mean, _Sorceress Heartilly_. – Kristyne stated. 

- I… see. - The casual ambient had completely vanished. Rinoa talked now completely seriously. – How long have you been thinking this, Child.

- Enough to be completely sure.

- Then I must tell you that _that _won't happen, understand? Never. I'll never let it go that way; before that could be, I will kill myself, you hear me? So don't be wasting your time thinking about such things. – She finished, not expecting an answer. 

- Okay, Rinoa… it was something I had to bring out of me, that's all… but I swear that if the world turns against you for any reason… I won't be part of the world. I'll stand by your side. - The Sorceress knew that, despite Kristyne would not mention it again, her determination of being at her side no matter what would happen had not been weakened by her words; that annoyed her in part… but on the other hand she felt happy that she would have a friend always, whatever destiny had reserved to them. Her warm smile returned to her face.

- Come on, help me choose some appropriate clothes… it will be an outfit that millions of people will see, Danielle.

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*Author's note: The "Being One with Nature rituals"… once per year, Rinoa performs a 'purification of the flesh', that is a very complex ceremony that must be executed in a 'wild' place, and where she needs another human being that must be close to her. Rinoa chose Kristyne for it, and she agreed gladly; in it, they transcend the material plane to become a whole with the things that surround them. One of the countless requirements of it is that they can't have anything on, because it would interfere in the magical energies unleashed. The complete description of this ritual, that takes more than twenty hours to get finished and is so complicated that can't be detailed entirely here, can be found in "The Book of Sorcery", in Sorceress Rinoa Heartilly's personal library.

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**31. Wild**

Zell had finally left after being there trying to have at least a little chat with Squall… all his efforts in vain. After having demoralised Zell to the point that he gave up trying to "contact" him and left, Squall could study where he was without being disturbed. _The_ guest room, where he had been led to, was the one of the finest places of Garden, with all kind of expensive luxuries and furniture, exquisite tapestries on the walls and the most refined carpets on the floor... it had three rooms (bedroom, bath and living room) and it had an access to quite a large balcony where the sight of the shore of Galbadian continent was displayed, Dollet able to be seen in the far distance to the north. He already hated being there. He felt overwhelmed by all those things that surrounded him, even the smell made him feel uncomfortable; without staying there any longer, he hurried to the balcony to take some pure salt air from the ocean. It was horrible for him thinking that he would have to get used again to that room, to those _walls_ surrounding him, to a bed… to civilization. Walls didn't exist in his world; his ceiling were the stars, or the exuberant branches of trees, or the hard rock of a cave. His bed had always been some blankets on the floor, sometimes don't even that. Thinking about this, he decided he _would not_ get used to it again; he took off his backpack, that still was on his back, and picked from it his sleeping bag. Extending it on the floor of the balcony, he sat on it, and simply looked at the ocean and the shore, thinking… thinking, meditating, slowly falling in a state of semi-conscience, remembering passed times to escape from that place, at least for some precious time…

_~~The night had fallen and the most of nature slept… still, he continued walking, with the stubborn determination of finishing what had brought him there; it would come to an end that night, and no other. He continued walking through the forest, located somewhere in the deeps of Trabia, with a very explicit objective in his mind to achieve; the hours passed, without changes, only his steps being heard in the deepness of the forest along with the sound of the creatures of the night and the sound of wind passing through the leaves of trees. Finally, he arrived to what appeared to be a house in a tree; a _huge_ house, in a even huger tree. "are you sure it's here?" he mentally asked. "Completely." Came the voice in response; it was not a voice at all in the strict sense of the word… it was something like an emotional language, emitting very specific, advanced emotions to him, notions that were much more expressive than words, that were automatically translated to Common language in Squall's mind. "Then let's put an end to this. Finally I willfind the answers to questions that _he_ made me ask." The man hollowly stated, this time aloud. "They are powerful. More than you. You will not be able to beat them even with Our assistance." He sardonically smiled. "I won't resort to violence. I know it would be a suicide. It's only… a courtesy visit. I've been wandering, looking for him for too long to back off now." The 'voice' finished with an advice: "Ask your questions then, but have in mind that They will ask you too… and not in the common way. Be careful, and respectful, and you will have your answers."_

_Squall nodded and silently, slowly approached the tree-house. He began to go up the numerous wooden steps that ascended in a spiral around the trunk of the tree, reaching a huge door made of oak wood. He extended his arm, and pulled it, the door instantly opening almost without effort. He was surprised to see an entire jungle inside the place; an exuberant forest inside the forest. The moonlight managed to filter through the ceiling, a gigantic crystal dome, its pale blue light illuminating all the magnificent area. It was strange, because the place, despite it already looked extremely big from outside, seemed to be much larger from the inside. He walked forward, through the grass-covered ground, green surrounding him everywhere; he could distinguish a brighter spot, with a strange form that he could not see properly yet, at the end of the wild path. He walked towards it…_

~~

Squall heard how someone was knocking at the door, dragging him back to the present world. Frowning, he glanced at the sky, and realised that surprisingly almost two hours had passed. He stood up, went to the door and opened it. It was Quistis, who held a large bag in one of her hands. He noticed that she had changed her attire, now wearing not an exuberant ceremonial dress, or some or her usual comfortable work clothes, but something she had not worn for quite a long time now: her combat outfit, that which she had used almost twelve years ago fighting Ultimecia… well, not exactly that one: there are no clothes, no matter how good they are, that resist twelve years of constant use; it was an exact replica of the old one that had been specially designed for her by one of the best tailors in Deling. It had four years now, but looked almost new: the brownish-red jacket without sleeves, her bellybutton revealed; her long, dark brown skin gloves, covering her skin up to the shoulder; the skirt, of the same tone of the top, fastened to her waist with her dark leather belt; her boots, those brown leather boots that covered her legs up to the knees; her whip, the "Save the Queen" she had worked so hard to obtain, in her right hip; and finally, her hair, gold as sun, tied in that characteristic way that made her ever-growing fans sigh with admiration when they saw her. It was an splendid sight that which was displayed before Squall's eyes, such a wonderful woman in the bloom of her life, but he didn't care at all. He could see beyond that, he saw the faint lines in her face that began to appear, born of countless worries and distresses; he saw growing tiredness in those azure eyes that stared at him with such intensity; he saw a dying flower that desperately fought for some light and water to survive. But what he didn't know was that she considered him that water, that air that she would breath so deeply if she just could. But he wouldn't have cared at all. Over everything, he saw in her the symbol of his imprisonment in an intangible jail, that trespassed walls and doors and involved him with its ethereal claw and didn't let him even breathe. With a warm, bright smile, she talked.

- I have some things for you. It's time for them to return to its owner's hand. – She stepped inside the luxurious room and closed the door behind her, not waiting to be invited for she knew Squall would never do such thing.

- What do you mean. – The man asked, raising an eyebrow.

Without a word, Quistis simply sat in one of the numerous seats of the room, opened the bag and took something out of it. It was a long, narrow case, like those which were used to hold swords. It was of a metallic black, and had a very special symbol stamped in silver on it; the head of a mystic animal, that Squall had once called a "lion": Griever. She slowly handed the case to him, who looked at her warily, narrowing his eyes. Finally, he took it from her hands and, unlocking the silver clasps, the man opened it and looked at what it held inside. It was something he hadn't seen in too much time, and definitely the only thing that he had barely missed from his times of SeeD… his personal upgraded gunblade, the Lion Heart. It was of a pale blue, constructed with a material that resembled ice, but much more hard, slightly translucent. Its blade irradiated an ethereal cerulean aura, like it had life latent inside it, and was incredibly, deathly sharp. And beside its bullets, was other thing that he had almost missed, sometimes absently caressing the finger where it should have been all those years: Griever, his ring. As he analysed them, Quistis spoke.

- I've kept it all these years, Squall, for I knew in my heart you'd handle it again. – Squall then looked at her, an unreadable expression in his face.

- I promised long ago to not hold any weapon again, Instructor. – He hollowly said, beginning to close the case. The woman's lips became a thin line.

- Your return to the public eye must be as charismatic as possible, Squall. They'll prefer to see the old Squall Leonhart, that who saved their lives, and not the… mmm… "New" one. You don't really have to use it, if you don't want… just hold it, that's all. – The ex-SeeD stared at her eyes as he considered what to do. "It doesn't really matter. Now that I am here, let's do it to the end. I can forget this again… if I manage to survive." He sadly, bitterly thought. He took the ornate handle of the weapon, which fitted his hand perfectly, and held it vertically in front of him, giving the case back to Quistis.

- I have betrayed all the promises I did to myself, _Quistis_. Let the betrayal be complete. – With that, he grabbed his ponytail with his left hand and put the razor sharp blade of Lion Heart under it, the not-edged side resting on the nape of his neck. Without any other word, he easily cut it, the hair falling in a copper shower to the ground. – Let's give your SeeDs what they want, Commander.

He took Griever from the box and put it in his finger.

Quistis smiled.

**32. The Coalition **

**Extract from "_War Chronicles_", written by numerous authors, assembled in one and edited by the renowned authoress and poet Lillian Vennec. The book describes numerous passages and events of what later would be called "_The Estharian Invasion_", each written by different journalists in separated articles. This masterpiece that illustrates the times of war like no other can, can be found in the Estharian Library, Metropolis of Esthar. This extract is a very reduced version, only stated the unknown events for the reader, of the part named "_The arise of the Coalition_", Chapter two part three of "_War Chronicles_"**

_ Original fragment written by Delon Cole, for the "Deling Today" journal; edited by Lillian Venec to fit in the line of history._

_ _

_- Tuesday the 23rd, August, 7431 p.H._

__

_12:14 in the morning. - _

_ _

_[…] __In an attempt to prevent the nation of Esthar from eradicating the rest of nations in the world, all other factions over Kholos, from the empire of Galbadia to the most little villages like Winhill […] participated in an assembly that would decide the future of millions of human lives. The council was being held in the city of Deling, capital of Galbadia and therefore the most appropriate place to host the meeting. The writer of this article, Delon Cole, […] was located in the main room of the Deling Embassy, waiting for the meeting to begin. There was no public, but it would be retransmitted all over the world, even for Esthar, measure that had been specially requested by the SeeD organisation; And were specially the spokesmen of that faction, expressly the Balamb Garden leaders, the only ones that had not arrived. The room was full of expectation, all the delegates of every place in Galbadia Continent and independent places such as Timber, or Fisherman's Horizon expecting the news that the SeeDs and general Caraway had to give. Because it was an assembly that the leader of Galbadia had convened, after receiving a communicate from Esthar, and later one from Balamb Garden. The nature of this communicate had been kept in secret to that moment, where it would be revealed and furthermore discussed. [...]_

_ _

_12:27 in the morning. - _

_ _

_The Balamb ambassadors had arrived already. They were three: Commander Quistis Trepe […], Sorceress Rinoa Heartilly […], and someone that had not been identified, covering his face and body with a brown cloak. Everything was prepared then, all the delegates occupying their respective stands in the huge circular room. The leader of the Galbadian nation, General Price N. Caraway, who acted as the moderator of the meeting as well, began the ceremony […]. After the tedious protocol was over, the true reunion started. Caraway began, filling all the assistants in about what was happening, the reason for that meeting […]. _

_13:15 in the afternoon. -_

Everyone was shocked, without exception, as they knew what was going on. Incredulous at first, it had been necessary to call people to calm several times, until the ambassadors of each place assumed that it was completely true and real what Caraway had said: that Esthar was going to do war against them, and apparently for reasons for which the SeeD organisation, and the Galbadian radicals, were responsible. After calming the voices of anger against the apparent culprits, asking for patience so they would know all the story,the moderator gave the word to the Balamb Garden delegates, who would ratify, detail and add vital information to Caraway's speech, so all the thread would be uncovered […]

_ _

_14:06 in the afternoon. -_

_The tape with Odine's voice had finally stopped, and the Commander of Balamb Garden Quistis Trepe continued adding some information such as the description of the message they had received from Esthar, and ending with how it was obvious that all was a façade built by the beings known as the 'Uktumi'. She hadn't spared any detail in her heated, at times full of emotion speech, beginning with how the missiles fell over Trabia Garden, the death of the renowned SeeD Selphie Tilmitt, their conversation with President Laguna Loire, their expedition to the hidden Laboratory, and a large etcetera. […] When she reached the part where they had just received the Esthar "Fake peace offer" as she called it, and said that The Sorceress Heartilly and her had gone to her office to discuss it, she made a long pause, breathing deeply before continuing. Next are described her textual words, transcribed exactly as she pronounced them, for those were words that deserved to be recorded in history: "In that discussion, we came to the conclusion that only one thing could help us overcome this crisis. We decided to finally break our vow of not revealing it, for we needed him more than in any other circumstance. We decided, to throw some light onto the most jealousy kept secret of SeeD, that is known by very few people in the entire world, all of them part of our organisation. We decided to seek Squall Leonhart and bring him 'back to life'… in a figured sense of course… for he has never been dead. And that's what I'm about to do, because this, ladies and gentlemen, leaders and delegates of the non-estharian faction, is what we needed to survive." As her words faded in the meeting room, the speechless assistants to the council saw how the cloaked figure, that had done nothing to the moment, slowly gave a step forward and pulled back his hood. Before the shocked stares from everyone in the room, that identified the face instantly, he loudly, clearly stated four simple words: "I am Squall Leonhart." Every single person in the room was stunned, from the guards that secured the place to the very General Price Caraway. After this pause of effect, he went on talking, carving his words into the assistants' minds. "And I have come, to fight against Esthar for humanity's sake." It was unbelievable for everyone there, and everyone in their houses who were watching this through TV, that Squall Leonhart was talking to them. Obviously, this deserved an explanation […] _

_14:14 in the afternoon. -_

_Quistis Trepe had explained everything, finally uncovering the truth long hidden to the world, for obvious reasons. Before continuing with the facts, a summary is needed to the better understanding of the situation: She started saying again that Squall Leonhart did not die in the fight against Ultimecia. He had been lost for a while, staying to finally kill Ultimecia while the others went back to their own time. It was a valiant action that he accomplished risking even more his life, in an attempt to at least save the others'. But he had returned, some hours after everyone did. Commander Trepe explained that he had been offered every honour they could imagine, and that they had offered him the highest rank in the corporation, or anything he might want of them… what he said to them, in the textual words was "I want to leave and die to the world." It is not known what Squall Leonhart suffered in his space-time odyssey to desire that, but SeeD gave him what he wanted, for he had saved their existence. Squall Leonhart left Balamb Garden in the shadows, exactly one night after the Ultimecia Battle, day 18, month 12, year 7419 p.H., but leaving with the promise that, if they needed him again, they only had to find him. And at the same time, the next day word was spread that he was dead, killing him to the eyes of the world as he desired. In that way, Squall had been wandering all around the world, hidden to humanity, living a lone life in the wilds, never settling down.* And now, they had need of him, so he was found, and returned as promised. In that moment, when she finished her speech, everyone was silent, assimilating what they had just heard. And then, someone from the media that could not hold it any longer shouted, raising his fist, a bright smile and eyes full of hope, maybe even fanaticism: "Long live Squall Leonhart!!" In less than a few seconds, the room was a storm of cheers, everyone, even General Caraway, producing a roar of clapping, cheering, and yelling that went in a crescendo, each one of them directed to the same point, a only person that stood solemnly, pursing his lips. _

The expression of the other Balamb delegates were both smiles: a bright triumphant one in the Commander's face, a scornful one in the Sorceress'.

__End of fragment. After this, the alliances were easily formed. Despite wary at first, the different autonomies understood what was necessary. With the apparition of Squall Leonhart, the passionate intervention of Rinoa Heartilly (describing that they needed to be together if they wanted to survive and many other arguments), some speeches from the respective delegates from the different places, all of this made the meeting be a complete success. 

The Coalition had been formed_._

End of chapter seven.

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*Author's note: as you might have guessed already, Quistis _lied_ in that meeting too. She had invented a nice, credible story to cover the truth so they would not be ashamed of revealing it… ahh ntch ntch, nasty Quistis…


End file.
